Women in Red
by Bismarck Alexander
Summary: Slight retelling of the RE timeline, starting from RE2 and focusing on Ada and Claire. Another work of Clock Tower. Well actually its focusing on Claire's adventures of zombie killing and getting female action throughout a the series.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One.

"So you're saying those things out there are zombies?" Claire asked the young Asian woman sitting across from her in the police chief's chair.

"Yes," said the woman who had introduced herself as Ada. She was wearing a short red dress and carrying a nine millimeter pistol. She had used it in the lobby of the police station on three of the zombified police officers that had been after Claire. Claire's own gun had run out of bullets long ago. "You need to decapitate them or destroy their brains completely to put them down. Get bitten and you'll become one within twenty-four hours."

Claire paced around the lavishly decorated room and tried to think. After learning that her brother, Chris, was nowhere to be found in Raccoon City, her only thoughts had been of escaping. But now she was curious as to just what had caused the city's inhabitants to become mindless rotting cannibals. "So it's a disease then? Why has no one come to help? All the phone lines have been cut and…"

"Because it was planned," Ada said casually. "Umbrella set the whole thing up."

"Umbrella?"

"The company that runs this town and the biological weapons lab beneath it. This disaster was orchestrated to test their monster's combat abilities on a civilian population," Ada said, examining her pistol.

"How do you know all of this?" Claire asked, casting a wary glance at Ada and her gun.

"My boyfriend was a researcher there; he told me things," Ada said.

"He didn't happen to mention a way out of here did he?" Claire asked, a little skeptical of Ada's story.

Ada sighed. "I only know of one way out, but it's dangerous."

"What way would that be? Leaving this building is pretty much committing suicide, the helicopter was taken out…"

"It involves going down to the sewers, through the underground labs, and getting onboard an underground train that leads to the surface just outside of town," Ada said. "The labs, and I suspect even the sewers, are also likely crawling with things worse than zombies."

Claire shook her head. "Great, just great. Alright then, how do we get there from here?"

Ada smiled and looked up into Claire's eyes. "I could tell you," she said, smiling. "But what would you do for me?"

Claire shrugged. "I don't know…I don't really have anything. If I had bullets I could back you up…"

Ada laughed softly. "I can handle myself, don't worry. And I'm well aware of the fact that you're essentially a nobody and have no money or connections."

Claire huffed, wondering what the hell the bizarre woman was playing at. "Look, I appreciate you saving me and all, but I don't have to take this. I don't know what you think you're…"

"You've got something I want, trust me. Giving it to me won't hurt you in the least." Ada stood up, set her gun down and walked over to Claire, deliberately putting each foot directly in front of the other. Placing her finger at the base of Claire's neck, Ada leaned in and whispered, "I want your body."

Claire looked at Ada, but otherwise didn't move. Staring into Ada's dark, brown eyes she tried to read her. Claire had seen plenty of monstrous things and people since coming to Raccoon City; she wasn't sure what Ada meant by what she said. "What do you mean?" Claire asked calmly.

Ada smiled, "What do you think I mean? I saved you because I thought you might be good in bed. I don't need you, or anyone else, to escape this place."

Shocked and a little appalled, Claire opened her mouth to speak. Ada stopped her by planting her lips over Claire's. The fact that she actually did need Ada to escape kept Claire from shoving her backward. Instead, she let the other woman explore her mouth with her tongue. Ada pulled back from the kiss and looked Claire up and down. "You'll have to do better than that unless you want to take your chances by yourself."

Claire took a deep breath and shut her eyes. She grabbed Ada by the shoulders and pulled her in, returning the kiss she had just received with added vigor. Ada responded to her tongue action with some of her own, and Claire felt herself become wet in between her legs. "That better?" Claire asked flatly, pulling back, letting Ada nuzzle and kiss her neck.

"Much," Ada said into Claire's ear as she nibbled at the lobe. "Get me off and I'll make sure you find your way out of town."

Claire grabbed Ada by the waist and guided her over to the desk. Shoving papers and assorted office supplied off to the side, Claire made a place for Ada to sit. She hiked up Ada's dress, exposing her white panties and the tops of her nylon stockings. Pulling the panties down, Claire lifted Ada up on the desk.

Ada began undoing the buttons on Claire's shirt; Claire took the message and removed it entirely. "The bra too," Ada said, and off went Claire's black bra. "Now, on your knees. If you're really good I might do you too."

Claire dropped to her knees before Ada's pussy. Spreading the other woman's legs, she slid her tongue up through Ada's slit, tasting her sour musk, and feeling her coarse, black, pubic hair brush her face. Ada shuddered at Claire's first lick and began to rock her hips slightly as Claire slowly lapped and flicked her clit with her tongue. Claire felt Ada's fingers slide through her hair, pulling her ponytail out of place as she gripped Claire's skull.

Ada leaned back on the desk and began to moves her hips up and down faster. Her grip on Claire's head was tight and she used it to force Claire's face down on her. Claire did her best to lick Ada in time with her hip thrusts and had to grab onto Ada's thighs to steady her on the desk. Ada moaned quietly as her fingers pressed harder into Claire's scalp.

Claire heard Ada's right palm slap the desk as Ada used it for balance. Her moans became louder and her thrusting harder; Claire knew she was having an orgasm. Hopefully one good enough for Ada to show her the way to the labs. When Ada finally stopped coming, she lay back on the desk, knocking a stapler and a file folder off the edge. Claire got to her feet and rubbed her sore knees while Ada sighed heavily as she lay sprawled on the desk. "Not bad," Ada said. "Maybe I'll take you with me after all."

She was only slightly relieved; Ada didn't seem like the trustworthy type, plus Claire's panties were moist; she could feel it as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Ada sat up and slid off the desk to her feet; pulling up her panties and straightening out her dress she looked at Claire's shirtless form and smiled. "Maybe next time I'll do you. Right now, we had better get going."

Claire put her bra and shirt back on while Ada walked calmly around to the back of the desk. There was a painting on the back wall; Ada removed it, revealing a grey panel set into the wall with three square indentations. Ada turned and picked her gun up from off the desk along with a little brown fanny pack.

From the pack she removed three square stones; one red, one blue and the other a dull yellow. She set them in place one by one ending with the blue. When it clicked into place part of the wall slid off to the side revealing a secret room. "A secret door?" Claire asked. "How did you know about that?"

"From reading Chief Irons's diary. It seems he was a very interesting man," Ada said walking into the secret room. "Coming?"

With her hand on her empty gun, Claire followed Ada into the room. "You said your boyfriend worked for Umbrella?" Claire asked, "What happened to him?"

"He's probably dead. No one was supposed to leave Raccoon City alive."

Chapter Two

Claire followed Ada's swaying hips as she led her through the secret passageway behind Chief Irons's office. Claire caught herself paying too much attention to the way Ada walked and diverted her gaze to the walls. The passage was dark and lined with black tarpaper, bare light bulbs set into the ceiling every dozen or so yards kept the passage remarkably well lit. From what Claire could tell, Chief Irons's may have built the passage himself.

The two women rounded a sharp corner where they were confronted with a thick wooden door held together by iron bands. It looked to be hand-made by an amateur and had some ominous looking brown stains near the handle. Claire noticed a sour smell permeating the hallway near the door as Ada stopped in front of it.

Ada turned and smiled at Claire, the corner of her red mouth turned up ever so slightly. "What's beyond that door might not be pretty. As I said, Irons was an interesting man."

Claire felt her stomach turn, more from the smell than anything else. Whatever was beyond the door couldn't be worse than anything she had seen so far. She nodded and Ada opened the door.

The room looked to be a cross between a specimen closet and a butcher's workshop. Lining the room were shelves containing formaldehyde jars filled with bizarre looking organs, some Claire recognized as being human. Dominating the center of the room was a large wooden table complete with leather straps. Scattered around the room were tools of the butcher and taxidermist's trade. "Oh my God," Claire said, covering her mouth. "What the hell has been going on in here?"

Ada glanced around the room with her hands on her hips. "I told you he was interesting. You can read his diary for details."

"No thanks," Claire said, "Now how do we get out of here? It's a dead end."

Ada looked the table over and played with one of the leather restraints. "Too bad it stinks in here, we could have some fun."

Claire felt a twinge run up her spine, good or bad she couldn't tell, perhaps both. "The smell is the least of my worries," Claire said, eying the stains on the table and trying not to think too much about what Irons recorded in his diary. She forced herself to look around the room, searching for perhaps another secret door. "What's that?" she asked, walking over to the corner of the room.

"Looks like a trap door," Ada said, looking down at the handle bolted to the floor, the edges obscured by dirt and grime. "Open it up."

Claire pulled open the door to reveal a steel ladder descending down into a dimly lit room. Claire peered down as far as she dared and listened. "Seems clear," she said.

"You first," Ada said.

"Me? But you're the one with the loaded gun, shouldn't you go?"

"I'm the one who should stay here and cover you while you climb down the ladder," Ada said.

Slowly Claire climbed down the ladder and into the room. She looked it over before getting off the ladder. The room was quite large; the ladder lead down to a catwalk which was suspended over a large pool of murky water. At the end of the catwalk on the other side of the room was a steel door.

Claire jumped off the ladder and landed hard on her feet, sending a loud echo throughout the room. After a few moments, Ada joined her. "You're loud. Not good." Ada said.

"It's some kind of sewage treatment tank," Claire said looking down into the large pool of black water. "You think Irons dumps bodies in there?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," Ada said, wrinkling her nose. "Let's move. This place stinks worse than upstairs."

Ada led the way across the catwalk, once again distracting Claire who preferred to focus on the lines of Ada's body as it moved ahead rather than dwell on the odor of the room. "Look," Ada said, gesturing to the floor of the catwalk in front of her. It was covered in a layer of greenish mucus. "Something has been here."

Claire looked, "Are those bullet holes?" she said gesturing to the odd tears in the metal flooring.

"Looks like it," Ada said walking around the mucus as best she could and over to the door. "It also seems that someone has unlocked this door for us."

"How do you know that?" Claire asked.

Ada pointed to a yellow box on the wall. Claire looked and saw that what looked to be chess pieces were inserted into slots in the box. "These chess pieces are like keys," Ada said. "John mentioned them to me. He said that if I ever had to escape, that this was the way to go."

"What if the keys hadn't been there," Claire asked, looking at Ada's expressions carefully.

"I had been looking for them," Ada said, "when I didn't find them where I should have, I assumed they had been taken and used."

"Seems a bit risky," Claire said. "And wasn't it Irons's diary that told you how to get here?"

Ada smiled, "There are other, less savory, ways into this room. John didn't know about this one."

Claire nodded, not feeling the need to argue. Ada was the one with the loaded gun after all. "So where does the door lead?" Claire asked.

Ada grabbed the handle and tugged hard. The door opened with the peeling sound common to refrigerators and other such airtight passages. "Like I said, the sewers and sewage treatment plant. From there we can get to the lab and then to the underground train."

Claire was about to follow Ada through the door when she heard and felt something large land on the catwalk behind her. Ada's eyes went wide and Claire turned around to see what was behind them. Standing at the other end was what looked to be a man wearing jeans and a white lab coat, both stretched to the point of ruin due to the man's enormous size.

He was at least nine feet tall and seemed to be lopsided in his growth. His right arm, instead of being normal, was absurdly large, ending in equally oversized claws. The creature fixed its yellow eyes on the two women and let out a roar. Hearing such a sound come from a human visage made Claire's heart skip a beat. "Run," Ada said, bolting through the door.

Fearing Ada would leave her behind, Claire followed, shutting the door behind her. She followed Ada as she ran down a stone hallway lit only by dim light bulbs set into the ceiling, much like the passage to Irons's torture chamber. Claire ran faster when she heard a thud against the door behind her.

Ada seemed to have some idea of where she was headed and Claire did her best to keep up, knowing that if she lagged behind, Ada wouldn't slow down for her. Finally Ada ducked into an alcove and through a door leading into a small office. "I think we lost it," Ada said.

"Where are we?" Claire asked, looking around the room. There was a desk covered in papers in the center, an odd looking terminal that took up an entire wall, and a cot in the corner opposite the terminal.

"Looks like a manager's office," Ada said. "Probably lived here most of the time." Ada pointed to the cot. "Talk about married to your work."

Claire glanced nervously at the door. "What was that thing?"

Ada shrugged. "One of Umbrella's monsters. He looked like he might have been a scientist."

"I can't believe they'd do this to their own people," Claire said.

Ada walked over to the door and locked it. "We should rest here for a while. I doubt that thing will track us; it probably can't fit through the door too easily."

Claire nodded and sat down in one of the chairs next to the desk. The cot in the corner seemed to become a more prominent feature in the room the more Ada looked at her. "Are you sure we'll be safe here?" Claire asked.

"For a while at lest. Zombies can't unlock doors and I doubt tall dark and ugly won't find us." Ada set her gun down on the desk and unbuckled her fanny pack, setting it down on the table. "Why don't you lie down? You'll be more comfortable."

Claire took a deep breath and did as Ada asked.

Chapter Three

Claire was about to lay down on the cot when Ada stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're not going to rest with your clothes on are you?" Ada asked.

"Am I going to get any rest at all?" Claire said, unbuttoning her vest.

Ada smiled. "Probably not."

Claire pulled her shirt up over her head and kicked off her boots. Slowly, she slid down her shorts and stepped gingerly out of them.

She felt Ada's hands grasp her hips and slowly slide upwards across her back to unfasten her black bra. Ada let the bra fall into the pile of Claire's clothes on the floor and slid her arms around Claire's chest to touch her breasts. Claire closed her eyes and let Ada's fingers play over her nipples, squeezing them gently.

Ada let one of her hands trail up Claire's neck and over her lips. She gently slipped her index and middle fingers into Claire's mouth, who began to lick and suck them, coating them in saliva. Slowly, Ada withdrew her fingers from Claire's mouth and slid them down under Claire's panties.

Claire gasped when Ada's fingers ran over her slit and began to gently work them up and down. Claire let out a soft moan when Ada began nibbling at her neck and squeezing her breast with her free hand.

The strength was leaving Claire's legs and she sank slightly in Ada's embrace. Ada let her slowly slide to her knees, keeping her hand between Claire's legs as she did so. Gently but firmly, Ada let Claire lean forward onto her elbows. With her hand still firmly placed on Claire's breast, she slid her fingers deeper inside her, making her moan louder. "Don't come too loud, something might hear you," Ada said as Claire begin to rock her hips in time with Ada's finger motions.

Ada began running her free hand over Claire's body: her back, stomach, chest and buttocks. "I wish I had something to stick in you," Ada said wistfully. "A nice big strap-on to fuck you with would be good right now."

Claire looked back at Ada for a brief moment, I must be insane to trust this woman. I need her though, she knows the way out of here…Her thoughts were interrupted; suddenly a massive wave of pleasure surged from within her, as though some dam had broken inside her. The orgasm caused her to lurch forward and let out a sharp, moan. Claire stifled her screams; Ada had been right about them not wanting other things to hear. The taste of blood hit her tongue as she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

When the orgasm stopped, Claire collapsed flat onto the floor and breathed heavily. She wanted to sleep and hoped that Ada wasn't in the mood to have her turn.

Ada licked her wet fingers and gave Claire a gentle backhanded smack on her butt. "Feel good?"

"Yeah," Claire said exhausted.

"Just the thing after a scary experience like what happened back there, right?"

Claire didn't answer. Instead she closed her eyes, thinking she would rest them momentarily.

Claire woke up on the cot wearing nothing but her panties. She sat up quickly and looked around the room for Ada. When she didn't see the lady in red, she swore and got dressed. "I knew it, I knew I shouldn't have trusted her," she said.

The door opened and she nearly screamed. When Ada walked in, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Where did you go?" she asked.

"I scouted ahead," Ada said. "You didn't think I'd leave you?"

Claire tried to tell if Ada was being sarcastic or not but couldn't. "I didn't know what to think. How long have I been asleep?"

"Only about an hour," Ada said. "You've had a long day."

"Yeah. So what's it like up ahead?"

Ada patted her gun in its holster. "Zombies somehow made their way into the sewers, more than I have bullets for. Giant spiders too."

Claire's eyes went wide. "Spiders?"

"Bigger than a large dog. They drip poison down on their prey from the ceiling."

"So what are we going to do?" Claire asked.

"Run past them and shoot a few when they get in our way. Sound good?"

Claire unsheathed the bowie knife she had on her and looked over the blade as it glimmered in the light. "I guess…"

"Grab a pipe or something," Ada said. "You don't want to get close enough to have to use that knife."

Claire searched around the office and found just such a pipe in a supply room. It was about three feet long and heavy enough to crack a skull, or be driven through an eye socket. "When do we leave?"

"Now," Ada said. "There's nothing more for us here."

Claire followed Ada out the door wondering when their next pit stop would be as she watched Ada's hips sway.

Chapter Four.

Claire followed Ada through a grey, steel door that creaked loudly when she turned the handle. The door swung out, revealing a large room with what Claire thought was a waterfall toward the end. Ada walked confidently into the room and stepped off to the side, revealing the occupants.

There were seven of them, zombies, the reanimated corpses of average people who had once called Raccoon City home. Somehow they had ended up in the sewers and their bodies were marked with the wounds of the journey. Some were missing arms and large patches of skin, all were soaked and reeking of rotten meat.

Painful, hungry moans escaped their throats as they shuffled towards the two women, their arms outstretched to grasp their food. Claire looked to Ada and saw that the other woman was looking past the zombies at something. Claire looked and saw that there was a door of some sort behind the pounding waterfall. There was also an alcove off to their left, near the barrier of water.

Ada pointed toward the alcove. "That's where we need to go. Let them get closer and we'll run around."

Claire nodded and watched the zombies approach, their feet sloshed clumsily through the ankle deep water that filled the room. They weren't fast by any means but she had seen them put on short bursts of speed when they neared their prey, and that made her worry. When the zombies were within ten feet, much too close for her comfort, Ada ran to the right and went around them, heading for the alcove on the right hand side of the wall.

Claire ran too, but one of the zombies lurched forward, cutting her off. Claire swung the pipe with all her strength at the zombie's head, connecting with a wet thunk. The zombie, a teenager by the looks of his clothes, fell, tripping up the others behind him. She made it to the alcove where Ada was standing in front of the door, doing something with the lock. "What is it?" Claire asked, looking behind her at the zombies as they continued to come towards them.

"Someone locked this door," Ada said all too calmly. "I'll have to shoot the lock."

"Try these," Claire said, fishing her lock picks out of her pocket and handing them over to Ada.

Ada smiled at Claire and took the picks. "What's a nice girl like you doing with naughty things like these?" Ada asked.

"They come in handy," Claire said, turning back around to face the zombies and wondering how was Ada could be so calm. She could hear Ada work the lock picks while she watched a zombie begin to climb up the three foot ledge that set the alcove above the rest of the room. Claire stepped forward and brought her pipe down on top of the zombie's head, making her hands hurt from the vibration. The zombie, a chubby blond woman who had lost her shirt and part of her scalp at some point, fell to the ground.

Claire heard the door's lock click just as she brought the pipe down on the head of another zombie. This time Claire felt some blood spatter on her face and was glad she wouldn't have to continue swinging the pipe.

She followed Ada through the door which led into a large, arched hallway, dimly lit up by emergency lights. Claire shut the door behind her and locked it. Ada was standing in the hall looking down towards the end with her hand on her hip. "What do you think happened here?" Ada asked, holding Claire's lock picks out in her palm. Claire took them, placed them back in her pocket and looked to see what Ada was talking about.

The hallway bent to the left about fifty feet down. The corner, near the bend, seemed to be splattered in blood while the floor was covered in meaty looking chunks. Claire listened for the familiar sound of zombies chewing on raw meat but didn't hear it. "What the…" the Claire said trying to fathom what might lie ahead.

"That wasn't here when I came through," Ada said. "I don't know what's up ahead."

"Just where are we going anyway?" Claire asked. "Why are we going this way?"

Ada began walking down the hall, more like a service tunnel now that Claire got a better look at it, with her gun held out in front of her.

"There's a box next to that waterfall. It's got two slots for two special coins that one of the sewer workers supposedly carries. We've got to find them and insert them to shut that waterfall down so we can go through the door on the other side," Ada said.

Claire looked at the bloody scene up ahead and sighed. "Coins? Why not just a lever?"

Ada shrugged. "It seems like puzzles and strange locks are popular in these parts; I'm not sure why."

She stopped wondering about it when she turned the corner and saw why the tunnel was covered in blood. Filling up most of the hallway on the other side of the bend was the largest alligator that Claire, and likely anyone else, had ever seen. It was eighty feet long if it was an inch and it was missing its upper jaw along with the top of its head. "What the hell happened?" Claire said, stopping in her tracks.

Even Ada seemed impressed by the sight. Ada pointed to some shards of metal scattered amongst the blood, bone and teeth of the dead alligator. "Looks like someone tricked it into eating the oxygen tank and then shot it."

"Didn't that happen in a movie?" Claire asked. "About a shark?"

"I think so," Ada said walking past the alligator's corpse through the narrow passage made between its body and the wall.

Claire followed, holding her nose. The stench of blood and sewer was thick around the alligator and Claire couldn't take her eyes off it. When they passed the dead creature, they came to another large metal door which led into another room containing another large tank filled with dirty water. There was a small walkway leading around the tank to the other side where a ladder leading upward was bolted to the wall.

Ada stopped in front of the ladder and looked up; the room was shaped like a tall cylinder and Claire suspected there was machinery of some kind up at the top. Hopefully the coins they needed were somewhere up there as well. Ada looked Claire up and down and seemed to ponder something. "I'll go first," Ada said, as she started up the ladder. "It's a long climb, so don't look down."

Claire followed Ada up the ladder and took her advice. Climbing was difficult while holding the steel pipe, but Claire focused on Ada's white panties as she climbed, rung by rung, up the ladder.

The area at the top was full of machines. The ladder had led them to a semi-circular room with control panels for water flow lining the far wall. Claire was dismayed to see the body of a sewer worker lying slumped over by one of the panels. Ada walked over to the corpse, a middle-aged bald man with a blood caked uniform, and began searching his pockets. Claire stood behind Ada and wondered how the man had met his end. Most of the blood seemed to be centered around the chest but his dark uniform made it difficult to tell cloth from clotted blood.

"Here we are," Ada said, producing two large coins, one silver and the other gold, from the dead man's pocket. Ada slid them into her fanny pack and walked past Claire to the ladder. "Coming?"

Claire looked away from the dead man and followed Ada down the ladder. As she descended she got the distinct impression that Ada was looking up at her as she climbed down. Claire resisted the urge to look down and check, instead she fixed her gaze on the rusty ladder rungs as she passed them.

Ada led the way back, past the alligator and to the locked door that led into the room with the waterfall that was blocking their path. Ada flicked the safety off her gun and put one hand on the door. "I'll only shoot if I have to; use your pipe," Ada said.

She threw open the door and stepped back, leaving Claire to react to the zombie as it lurched forward. Claire swung without thinking and caught it in the temple. She didn't have time to be afraid or angry at Ada; she swung the pipe hard and fast as each zombie came forward.

When there were no more, Claire was breathing heavy, her arms felt like they weighed fifty pounds apiece and she was covered in sweat. She cast a glance back at Ada and held her tongue. I could've been killed. She's only using me for herself and she'll sacrifice me without a second thought if it comes to it, Claire thought. "Good job," Ada said. "You got them all and we conserved our ammo."

More like you conserved your ammo, Claire thought bitterly as Ada walked past her. Claire followed and once again found herself watching Ada walk very carefully. As Ada inserted the coins into slots on a small grey box on the far wall, Claire briefly thought about cracking her over the back of the head with the pipe. Immediately she dismissed the thought as nonsense. Ada wasn't trustworthy by any means, but she was still human.

Ada pushed a button on the box after the coins were set in place and the waterfall slowed to a trickle, revealing a large, brown door set in another alcove above a drainage grate. Ada walked over to it and hoped up onto the ledge with Claire following behind. "This will take us to a big lift that Umbrella uses to shuttle personnel and supplies down to the underground labs. If the spiders I saw and that alligator are any indication, we're going to need to find better weapons," Ada said.

"Will they have any in the lab?"

Ada shrugged and placed her hand on the door's handle. "Maybe. Depends on what kind of experiments they were doing and how prepared they were for their pets escaping."

Claire swallowed hard as Ada opened the door. "Let's hope they thought ahead," she said

Chapter Five

The tunnel they walked through was made up a steel walkway and rock. Claire thought even someone of her limited carpentry skills could've built the tunnel and wired it with lights like it was.

The tunnel led to yet another door. Ada opened it and Claire was greeted by the welcome sensation of a breeze blowing over her sweaty skin. Claire followed Ada through the door and found that she was standing under the night sky. "We're outside?" Claire said, looking up at the fill moon as it hung in the cloudless sky. "Where are we?"

Ada began walking toward a train car set onto a giant steel platform. There was a control box next to it and Claire thought the entire apparatus might be the lift Ada had mentioned earlier. "We're still in Raccoon City," Ada said. "This is the lift that goes down into the labs."

Claire looked around the facility. It was some kind of cargo checkpoint or drop-off area. "There's no way out through here? We absolutely have to go through the labs?" Claire said, liking the idea of a visit to Umbrella's bio-weapons lab less and less the closer they got to it.

"You can follow me or find your own way out," Ada said, stopping by the control panel. "I'd much rather have you come with me," Ada said, putting a slight emphasis on the word "come."

Claire nodded and followed, knowing that she was more likely to live if she went along with Ada, even if the other woman was only using her as a sex toy. Ada punched a button on the control panel and a piercing honk filled the air. Claire and Ada hurried inside more to escape the sound rather than catch the ride. The door was to their left, up a short set of steps.

She walked in after Ada and looked around. The compartment looked like it could comfortably seat a dozen, with green polyester seats on either side of the room. Up front looked to be where the thing was controlled from the inside. Ada walked to the little room in the front and grabbed a small key hanging off the wall. "This will come in handy I think," she said, pocketing it.

The lift begin to move downward and Claire heard a loud commotion outside caused by whatever mechanism that moved the lift, shift into motion. "How far down is it?" Claire asked, wondering how long the ride would be as she sat on one of the seats and looked at Ada.

"A few minutes," Ada said, looking down at Claire. "Plenty of time to fuck."

Claire blinked, not sure she had heard right. "Come again?"

"Exactly," Ada said, smiling as she undid the clasp on her fanny pack and put it, along with her gun, down on the seat behind her. She grabbed her dress by the bottom hem and lifted it over her head, tossing it on top of the gun and pack.

Ada hadn't been wearing a bra, just her white panties and black nylons. Ada stood naked and gave Claire an expectant look. Claire responded by undoing her own shirt and stripping down to nothing but her panties. "Off with them," Ada said, slipping off her own underpants and coming closer to Claire.

Claire took off her panties and was about to kick off her boots when Ada practically jumped on her, forcing her to lie back on the seat. "Leave the boots," Ada said as her lips descended over Claire's. Ada shot her tongue deep into Claire's mouth and rolled it around over Claire's teeth and tongue.

Ada broke from the kiss, leaving Claire to watch as Ada slid down to suck at one of her breasts. Ada took just the nipple into her mouth, making Claire's body tense up as she rolled it around with her tongue.

Claire, not wanting to simply lie there and take it, slid her hands down Ada's back and over her buttocks, giving them a firm squeeze. Meanwhile, Ada had switched breasts, this time cupping the one she had just sucked in her free hand while she tasted Claire's other erect nipple.

Ada brought her hips down over Claire's thigh, just above the knee, and began to grind her pussy over it. Claire felt Ada's wetness begin to soak her leg and she squeezed her ass harder.

Ada began to breath heavily over Claire's tit as she sucked it. She pulled her mouth away, making a tiny popping noise as she did so. Sitting up and putting her full weight onto Claire's leg, she began to rock back and forth, covering the leg with the moisture from her pussy.

Claire wetted her own fingers with her mouth and slid them into her own slit, not trusting Ada to get her off after she was done fucking her leg. Ada opened her eyes for a moment to look at Claire and smiled. As she watched Claire finger herself, she began to grind harder. The harder she moved her hips, the harder she breathed. Finally, her grinding sped up and she began to moan. Ada's hands clamped onto Claire's hips and she thrust her clitoris over the soft, wet skin of her leg.

When Ada finally stopped coming, she took a moment to breath deeply. Once again, Ada opened her eyes to see Claire still fingering herself. "Let me help you with that," Ada said, slowly sliding down and back so her head was between Claire's legs. Claire removed her hand from her slit and placed it atop Ada's head. Ada wasted little time in plunging her tongue into Claire's pussy. Immediately Claire gasped and was well on her way to coming as Ada's tongue did for her clit what it did for her tits earlier.

The lift came to a stop just as Claire felt the last waves of orgasm leave her. Feeling drained, Claire let herself sink into the bench and relax. She felt Ada's body do the same and gently stroked Ada's head as it rode the rise and fall of her stomach.

Chapter Six

Claire wondered how Umbrella employees got their work done with such a slow lift to haul all the cargo up and down. And why was the thing shaped like a giant bulldozer? Nothing in Raccoon City made any sense, from the zombies to the giant alligators, to the puzzle pieces, to the crazy Asian woman who was offering her help in exchange for sexual favors.

Claire had just finished putting her clothes back on when the lift ground to a halt at its final destination. Ada had slipped back into her red dress and was checking her gun to make sure it was loaded and in working order. Claire wished they would at least run across some bullets for her own gun.

"I'll cover you," Ada said, gesturing toward the door with her gun. The message was clear, You first, I'll shoot it before it eats you...maybe. Claire sighed and wearily got to her feet. Her legs were still a little wobbly from the ride down but she managed.

Claire opened the door but didn't go through it. Instead, she looked out the door to survey the scene before her. Nothing looked to be out of place, but still, something didn't feel right. Claire could see that the lift had come to rest on a large, elevated platform. A ramp led down off the lift into a large, empty part of the building that might have been a hangar at one time, but now served as a warehouse. "Something is out there," Claire said.

Ada was staring at the door on the far wall of the warehouse. Claire turned to look at her, to see if she would force her out of the car as bait, or as a distraction, or if she had another idea that didn't involve sacrificing her. Ada looked Claire up and down, head to toe with the most obvious of intentions. Ada seemed to think a moment and then said, "We need to get to that door over there."

Claire nodded. "Do we run for it?"

Ada licked her lips and gave the door a long look. "Yes…go!"

Claire was off and running, only pouring on the speed when she heard Ada's soft footsteps behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that her senses had been correct, something was in the warehouse. It was creeping along on its stomach near a stack of girders; it was humanoid in shape, red and sinewy, as though it had no skin. It crept towards them on massive sets of claws, rearing up its head and hissing through a cage of teeth.

It was making its way between them and the door. "Licker!" Ada shouted. "Don't get near it."

As if I needed to be told that…liquor? Now? Claire thought as she slowed to let Ada move in front for a clear shot at the creature. It stopped between them and the door and crouched as if to pounce. Claire saw it flick its tongue out like a whip and knew that Ada had called it a licker for a reason. Something about the way it flicked its tongue, the way it whizzed through the air, told Claire it would slice her in half like she was a stick of butter.

Ada put three quick shots into its head. The white mass that Claire had taken to be exposed bone turned out to be fleshier than she thought; brain matter perhaps. Blood and chunks of white meat flew from the creature's head and spattered on the floor behind it. The licker twitched and convulsed like a spider in its death throes before it sprawled out on the floor and stopped moving.

Claire wanted to go inspect the dead thing, to see what it was, to satisfy her curiosity, but she didn't dare. Like some bad horror movie it was likely to spring back to life and slice her head off with that razor tongue. "Waste of bullets," Ada muttered. "We need to find more weapons and soon. This place is apt to be crawling with those things."

Claire shuddered. Her pipe would nothing to a licker or a giant alligator if they encountered one. Ada went through the door and Claire followed quickly behind, glad she wasn't taking point again. Must be I'm a good enough lay to keep around, she thought.

The door led into a hallway. It was long and wide but poorly lit. Claire kept expecting another licker to leap out at them from the shadows. Ada stooped next to a door on her right and tried to open it only it was locked. "Pipe," she said.

Claire bashed the handle off with the pipe and the door swung inward. Ada pointed her gun into the darkness of the room and when she was satisfied that there was nothing to kill inside, she went in and felt around for a light switch. She found one and the light revealed a tiny locker room. In the center was a table covered in ashtrays, soda cans and old newspapers. The room stank of cigarette smoke and the walls were yellow from all the smoking that had taken place inside.

Claire and Ada began to go through the lockers one by one on the wall. The ones with locks Claire bashed off with her pipe; neither of them were happy with the sound it made so they closed the door in an attempt to decrease their chances of attracting unwanted attention. Claire busted open a locker and was happy to see a pistol sitting atop a denim jacket. She quickly snatched it up and examined it, trying to act as though she hadn't been trying to grab it before Ada had. If Ada noticed her haste, she showed no sign.

"A nine millimeter," Claire said, checking the clip. "Loaded too." Claire looked around inside the locker for a spare clip, but found none. Sticking the gun in her belt, opposite her other, unloaded gun (a gift from Chris, not something she was going to just ditch) she resumed looking through lockers.

Their search turned up nothing else of value. "We need to get moving. All that noise likely got something's attention," Ada said. "Lets go."

Claire nodded and followed her out the door. Clearly Ada was still calling the shots; she knew her way around the lab and Claire didn't. A fact that did not make Claire feel safe.

Chapter Seven

Ada led the way down the metal corridor and Claire followed with her gun drawn. Ada seemed to be following a blue stripe painted along the right-hand side of the metal wall. Ada had said nothing about the actual route they would take through the lab, only that there was some kind of train at the bottom levels that led out.

The loud, mechanical sound the high-tech doors made when opening upon their approach made Claire feel a little safer. If anything was following them, it would have a noisy time of it. Conversely, the noise also announced their approach and location.

Ada stopped in front of one of the doors when it refused open. She grabbed the handle near the floor and pulled upward but nothing happened. "Damn it," Ada said. "This isn't good."

"What isn't?" Claire asked. "Why won't the door open?"

"This part of the lab must be in lockdown mode. Maybe a researcher had an attack of conscience," Ada said.

"What do you mean?" Claire asked as Ada turned around and began walking back the way they had come. Claire followed.

"The lockdown measures were supposed to have been disabled, allowing the freaks and monsters free passage through the lab," Ada said.

"How do we unlock it?"

"Follow me," Ada said. "If we're lucky, we shouldn't have to go too far out of our way."

As they walked, Claire noticed that Ada seemed to be following the red line painted onto the side of the wall. Claire wondered where they were headed and just what it was they were going to do when they got there. She stopped wondering when she heard the sound of the door at the end of the hallway to their backs open. Claire turned to see the pale, bloody, rotting figure of a zombie wearing a lab coat. It raised its arms into the air, let out a low moan and began walking forward.

Claire raised her gun to shoot, but Ada stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Don't waste your bullets, look." Behind the zombie Claire had been aiming her gun at

was another. As the they stumbled forward Claire could now hear the moans of what was a large number staggering down the hallway.

"They must have come up on us when we passed one of those intersections," Claire said. "What do we do?"

Ada kept walking down the hall, only this time at a light jog. Claire followed after making an annoyed sigh.

Ada slowed when they approached an old-fashioned door that opened via a doorknob. It was brown and rusted. Claire hoped it wasn't locked; she could hear the zombies' approach by the sound of the unlocked automatic doors opening. The rusted door opened and Claire made sure she was right behind Ada when it did.

Ada shut the door and locked it. Claire looked around and saw that they were now standing on top of a metal platform inside a large, dark shaft. "Is this some kind of elevator?" she asked until she realized that nearly half of the shaft was taken up by a gigantic plant. "W-what the hell?" she said, looking at what might have been mistaken for an ancient redwood tree only the trunk was a dark green with wiggling tentacle-like vines splaying out in odd places like braches.

Ada's eyes went wide as she saw the giant plant growing up the shaft. "Oh shit," she said, shuffling quickly over to a ladder near the edge of the platform.

"What is it?" Claire said, following Ada.

"That plant…I didn't think it would be this big…not yet." Ada holstered her gun and jumped onto the ladder. Claire followed her lead, getting the idea that the plant was not something they wanted to be around much longer.

Claire felt something tug on her ankle. She looked down to find that one of the vines had wrapped around her foot and was pulling her downward. "It's got me!" she shouted, doubting Ada would do much to help her. She looked up to see that one of the vines had encircled Ada's waist and was pulling at her as well.

"Shit," Ada said. "We don't have time for this."

"Time for what?" Claire shouted as another vine whipped around her wrist, making it hard to hold onto the ladder. "How do we kill this thing?"

"I'm not sure," Ada said, sounding more irritated than afraid. "Use your knife to try and cut the vines. Don't waste bullets."

More vines wrapped around Claire's extremities. With each vine pulling on her, she couldn't hold the ladder. She held her grip down to the last finger but the vines were too strong and they pulled her off. Claire fell backward onto the steel floor and watched as Ada leapt off to avoid a hard fall on her back.

Claire looked to the trunk of the plant and looked for a mouth. She tried to reach for her gun with the idea to shoot the mouth when it tried to eat her, but she couldn't quite reach the gun and nor did she see a mouth to put bullets in.

The vines were now grasping Claire's shorts and her shirt. When they slid down her pants and began to pull them off, along with her shirt, Claire's mouth opened in shock. "What the hell is it doing?" she shouted, looking over to Ada who was having problems of her own.

Ada looked over at Claire as she stood, leaning against the metal railing and rolled her eyes. "Umbrella's scientists are mostly men…go figure."

The vine-tentacles had pulled Ada's arms behind her back and had lifted up her dress. Smaller vines were pulling down her panties while others held her legs apart. "What do you mean, is it going to kill us?" Claire shouted as her own panties were pulled down after her shorts.

"No," Ada said with a sigh. "It'll feed off us and waste our time, then it might slack off a bit for us to escape. Until then…ugh." Ada's voice was that of someone stuck in traffic.

The knife and gun she had dropped were lying three feet to her right. The vines had pulled her hands behind her back, wrapped around her waist and were doing the same to her legs. Claire watched as a vine slid towards Ada, rose up between her legs and entered her. Ada winced as it inserted itself deeper and began to writhe inside her. Ada moaned as the vines pulled the top of her dress down over he breasts, exposing them to the air. Small tentacles, sprouting from the larger ones trickled over her breasts and began rubbing her nipples.

Claire began to struggle harder, trying to maneuver herself over to where her knife and gun lay. She screamed when a thick tentacle pushed its way past her lower lips and wiggled its way into her. Once inside, it began to swell and writhe. It felt good but the knowledge that it was a plant made her buck harder in an effort to reach her knife. Just how I'm going to cut it with my hands tied like this I don't know, she thought grimly. Tied or not, she wasn't going to just lie there and take this kind of abuse from a plant.

Ada closed her eyes and lean her head back, seemingly making the best of a bad situation. That's just sick, Claire thought. It's a plant for God's sake. Another tentacle slid its way over to Ada and snaked up the railing. Looks like she's in for some double penetration.

Claire realized she had thought wrong when Ada's eyes opened and a look of indignation across her face. "What…hey!" Ada said, as the tentacle penetrated her from somewhere else entirely.

Allowing herself a small grin at Ada's misfortune, she kept struggling to reach her knife. She had come a foot closer and was nearly there.

What goes around, comes around, Claire thought. This'll teach you to make sex slaves out of people who need your help. Small tentacles were now tickling her erect nipples and she looked down in them in disgust. Her revulsion turned to fear as she felt another tentacle brush against her leg on its way towards her crotch.

Oh, come on! Claire thought as she realized what was coming. The thick tentacle brushed against her buttocks and pushed its way into her anus, thankfully secreting some sort of lubricant as it entered. Claire was thankful that the maniac who engineered the plant's DNA had added that feature, but she still vowed to kill him if she found him.

The tentacle-vine in her anus didn't swell like the one stuck in her vagina nor did it writhe. Instead, it began to thrust itself in deeper, pulling out only to thrust inward again. Claire was close enough to her knife now to grab it if her arms ever got free. Shuffling forward was hard with tentacles stuck in her lower orifices and fondling her breast.

She turned her head when Ada began to orgasm. Ada fell to her knees as she screamed; the plant seeming to make sure she didn't fall. For a giant, tentacle-raping, plant, it was at least well-mannered.

With her face on the ground and her ass being held in the air while the plant fucked it, Claire gritted her teeth and lurched forward, grabbing her knife in her teeth. She attempted to cut the vines fondling her chest using the knife gripped between her teeth. Fearing she would cut herself or break her teeth, she decided to try to crawl over to Ada where maybe she would have better luck cutting some of her tentacles.

That plan was shot when one of the tentacle-vines pulled the knife from her mouth opening the way for another to thrust itself inside her. She shouted something but was effectively gagged. The tentacle lacked the bitter, plant-taste Clair had expected and had a tough, rubber-like consistency. She tried to bite through the tentacle-vine but her teeth couldn't puncture it.

Ada was having another orgasm. How the hell can she be enjoying this? Claire went limp, thinking the moment of slack from the tentacles on her body would give her some maneuvering room. It didn't. The tentacles cinched up as she relaxed and continued to have their way with her.

The tentacles on Ada suddenly went slack and slid away, leaving her lying on the floor to collect herself. Breathing heavily, Ada slid her clothes back into place and picked up her gun. A loud pounding on the steel door signified the arrival of the zombies. "Looks like they caught up," Ada said.

The tentacle in her mouth made Claire's shouts unintelligible. Ada stood up and walked slowly over to her as she lay on the floor, heedless of the tentacles that were still wrapped around Claire's body. "You'd better get out of that soon," Ada said. "I'm not sure how long that door will hold."

Claire screamed something that might have been "Help me!" through the vine gag.

Ada smiled and walked over to the ladder where she leaned against it. "It'll let go when you get off," Ada said. "I'd do it quickly if I were you. The door won't hold forever and I won't wait much longer."

She knew Ada was serious and panic began to rise in her chest. She was definitely not in the mood to have an orgasm; the atmosphere was all wrong. And at what time has the atmosphere been right today? She asked herself. Claire closed her eyes and shut out the sound of the zombies pounding on the door. She focused her mind on the sensation of the swollen tentacle-vine writhing inside her. It, along with the one in her ass, was sending pleasurable sensations through her body, even the ones caressing her tits.

The orgasm came after she was finally able to put her mind in the right spot. It was all she could do to keep it quiet, not wanting to vocalize her pleasure. The tentacle in her mouth made that easier. When Claire's body relaxed from the orgasm, the tentacle-vines retreated.

The tentacle-vines didn't stick around for round two like they had with Ada. They sliding out of her vagina and anus making her feel pleasantly empty' having them out of her mouth and off her tits was nice too.

Ada was climbing up the ladder as Claire was getting her clothes back on and picking up her weapons. Even though her legs felt like rubber-bands, Clair quickly followed Ada up the ladder as the door behind them burst open and the zombies rushed in. "Just in time," Ada called down the ladder.

Claire said nothing. She focused her gaze on Ada's backside and consoled herself in the knowledge that Ada had gotten the same treatment she had.

Chapter Eight

They came to a tiny service lift. Ada stepped into it with Claire squeezing in beside her and hit the green button on the yellow control pad. The elevator descended with Claire and Ada inches away from one another's face. Ada's brown eyes stared directly into Claire's. Claire could see nothing but an eerie glimmer of calm in those eyes; as though this situation was routine for her.

"Something wrong?" Ada said.

Claire licked her lips and tried to think of something appropriate to say. "No," she said. "I'm fine, you?"

Ada rolled her shoulders as though a chill had run down her spine. "Too bad we can't take that plant home."

The lift came to a stop and led into a dark hallway. Ada stepped off the lift, deliberately brushing up against Claire as she did so. "You enjoyed that?" Claire asked, following.

"Didn't you? It was a waste of time, but that plant sure knows how to fuck."

Claire shook her head. "It was disgusting."

Ada shrugged. "It's just a plant. It could have been a lot worse, you know." Claire shuddered and supposed a horny plant was preferable to a ravenous zombie or a murderous Licker.

They walked around a bend in the hall and came to an odd sight. Ahead was an alcove marked with a bright yellow line painted on the floor. In the alcove looked to be a door encrusted with large, brown eggs that were clearly not of the chicken variety. "Oh what the hell is this?" Ada said as they walked over to the door. The eggs were the size and shape of footballs only slightly rounder and seemed to be held together in clusters by a brown mucus.

"Don't tell me we have to get into that room?" Claire said.

"We do. And it's not the eggs we should worry about, it's whatever laid them."

Claire stepped forward with her knife drawn and removed the sticky mucus from the door handle as best she could. Once it was clear of gunk, she pulled it open, a task made more difficult by the mucus and eggs surrounding the edges of the door. "Gross," Claire muttered as the door came open.

The room inside was covered wall to wall in brown mucus and eggs. A green glow in the corner marked the only thing of note in the room; a computer terminal. Something white and crawling was on the computer terminal. "I need to access that terminal," Ada said.

Ada walked past her and Claire stepped into the room not wanting to be out in the hall alone for any length of time. Ada made it halfway across the room when the wall to the right of the terminal began to move. Ada jumped back in alarm and Claire shouted in surprise.

A giant moth had camouflaged itself with the brown mucus on the wall and was now fluttering down onto the floor. Clair pointed her gun at it but didn't fire. It's just a moth…it might be bigger than a Doberman, but it's still just a peaceful, stupid moth, she thought.

The moth wiggled its antennae and seemed to stare at her with its giant black eyes. She saw something wiggle amongst the thick fur where its mouth would be located and wondered what it was. Do moths have those long curly tongues like butterflies or…fangs, the damned thing had fangs. They were about five inches long, hooked and black, much like a spider.

Claire fired two shots into the moth's face. Antennae, fur and a green liquid splattered onto the wall. The creature fluttered its large brown wings rapidly, sending up moth dust. Claire held her nose and squinted her eyes, not wanting any of the dust in her lungs. Ada did the same and headed over to the computer terminal.

As the giant moth died, Ada plucked the larva off the computer monitor and threw it hard against the wall. Good thing I'm not wearing a wool sweater, Claire thought.

Ada typed something hastily into the computer and waited. Clair heard it beep and saw Ada smile. "We're good to go," she said. "But not back the way we came."

"Works for me," Claire said. "Do you think that was the only horny plant or are there more?"

Ada shrugged as she brushed past Claire, shooting a disgusted look at the dead moth. "Who knows what they've cooked up down here," Ada said.

Oh, I think you know exactly what's down here, Claire thought, following Ada back towards the elevator. You know far too much just to be a researcher's girlfriend.

Chapter Nine.

Claire wondered what time it was as she followed Ada through a doorway. The door opened with a handle; it wasn't automatic like most of the other doors they had come across. Claire didn't like the automatic doors, they made it too easy for zombies to follow them.

Claire gasped as she entered the small living quarters. Above the dead body on the floor was another plant growing out of the vent, its vines flailing. She drew her gun and aimed it at the plant, but Ada put her hand up. "Don't worry," she said. "It's not big enough to reach us."

The plant continued to flail about as Ada took a seat on one of the benches that jutted out of the wall on their left. To Claire's right there were two beds built into the wall. Claire's legs were tired and the beds looked cozy, despite the knowledge that their owners were likely dead.

"Should we worry about him?" Claire asked, gesturing towards the corpse of the scientist that lay sprawled out on the floor beneath the plant. "Will he turn into a zombie?"

Ada looked at the dead man and shrugged. "He got too close to that plant and was likely poisoned. At least that's what I'm guessing based on his skin color."

Claire took another look at the dead body. The skin was a deep purple and looked splotchy in places. "So the plant is dangerous then," Claire said.

Ada yawned and stretched. "Only if you get near it. Sit down and take a load off."

Claire took a seat on the bed lowest to the ground. She had to lean forward to avoid hitting her head, but she didn't want to share the bench with Ada. The stunt she had pulled during their encounter with the plant had driven home the fact that Ada did not have Claire's best interests at heart. "What are we waiting for?" Claire asked. "Shouldn't we keep moving?"

"From here on in, it's a straight shot to the service elevator that will take us to the underground train station. Once we're on board and rolling out, we'll be home free," Ada said. "There's just one problem."

"What's that?" Claire asked, figuring this was the part where Ada told her that she knew too much and that it was time to die.

"You know too much," Ada said, aiming her gun at Claire. Claire raised hers as well, her heart beating faster. "No one was supposed to survive, remember?"

"What are you going to do, shoot me?" Claire said, wondering if she could squeeze off a shot and duck Ada's bullet at the same time.

Ada's gun went off. Pain shot over the top of Claire's knuckles and she dropped her gun. Claire watched a thin line of blood trickle down her hand and then looked up at Ada, a thin smile spread across her face. "That all depends, really," Ada said.

Squeezing her bloody hand into a fist. "On what?" Claire asked.

"On your continued cooperation," Ada said. "I was planning on taking you along just for fun, and you have been a lot of fun, but I think you've got a bit more potential than I originally thought."

"Oh really?" Claire said. "Potential for what exactly? Who are you really and just what is it you do?"

"I'll get to that in a minute," Ada said. "Now, normally I work alone, but I think you might have what it takes to become my partner."

"Uh, look, I know I've been having sex with you without too much complaint in the last several hours, but normally I'm not…"

"I was talking about business partners," Ada said. "The line of work I'm in is quite lucrative."

Claire cast a glance over to the twitching plant and at the dead researcher. "Just how lucrative is it?"

"This little job is paying me in the millions," Ada said. "Not a bad price for a little corporate espionage."

"I'm not so sure it's worth it," Claire said. "Besides, I'm too busy looking for my brother to be doing this kind of thing."

Ada smiled. "Really? You do know that you're more apt to run into your brother Chris during this line of work than simply searching for him by yourself."

Claire's jaw dropped slightly. "How did you know my brother's name was Chris?"

"I'm a spy," Ada said. "It's my job to know things I shouldn't."

Claire cleared her throat and examined her hand. The bullet had only grazed the skin of her knuckles. Whether Ada had purposefully only nicked her, or if it had been plain luck, Claire wasn't sure. "Okay, let's pretend I say yes to this offer. What would I be doing?"

Ada gestured around the room with her gun. "Trust me, this isn't an average job. You'd accompany me on my missions and assist me when I ask for it. I'd pay you, sixty forty."

"And if I say no?"

"I shoot you in the head and leave," Ada said. Her facial expression told Claire she wasn't bluffing.

"I'm not going to help you kill anybody," Claire said. "That's one thing I won't do."

Ada nodded. "Don't worry, killing is nothing but a hassle and I avoid it when I can. I just think you'd make a good assistant. You've shown you can handle yourself in a tough situation."

Claire pretended to take the compliment. She had no real intention of becoming Ada's partner; her behavior so far had made it quite clear she was dangerous. Whatever keeps her from shooting me, Claire thought. "Okay then," Claire said. "So, will we be , taking these little breaks of ours still, because I…"

"You're not as straight as you think you are," Ada said. "Not by a long shot."

"Hey, I like men," Claire said defensively. "Just because…"

"Oh, you may like men just fine," Ada said, interrupting. "But you like women a lot too. Me at least."

"Only because I don't have a choice," Claire said. "You won't help me get out of here if I don't."

Ada laughed. "Oh, please. You don't think I notice the way you look at me?" Ada pulled the front of her dress and bra down, exposing both of her breasts. "You like this, don't lie."

Claire's eyes focused on the white mounds of Ada's breasts and the stiff brown nipples that tipped each one. There really wasn't much point in lying. "Alright, fine, I like women," Claire said.

Ada smiled and slipped her breasts back into her dress. "You're just a little apprehensive about me," Ada said. "Don't bother lying, it's just you and me here, no one else is around."

"Yeah, I'm a little worried about you," Claire said. "You could have cut me out of that plant anytime but instead you let it have its way with me while zombies were hammering at the door."

"I would have saved you," Ada said. "I just wanted to see if you could come from a plant while zombies were trying to eat you."

"My point exactly," Claire said. "Hanging around with you isn't exactly safe."

"And I suppose going along without me is safer?" Ada said. "Do you think following your brother is going to lead you to safer locales? Do you think going it alone is going to work better than going with me?"

Claire sighed. "Fine, I guess I'll be your partner." Why do I have the feeling I just sold my soul? Claire thought.

Ada smiled and lowered her gun. She slid Claire's gun back over towards her with her foot and Claire picked it up. "Good," Ada said. "I get a partner, you get to find your brother easier, you also get rich, and you get to have a taste of me now and again."

Lucky me, Claire thought. She smiled, pretending to be happy about the arrangement. "Sounds good. So which way to the elevator?"

"Don't be in such a hurry," Ada said, standing up. "We've got some time yet."

Chapter Ten.

Claire got up off the bunk and staggered, naked, across the small room to pick up her panties. She nearly fell down when she bent to pick them up. The job Ada had done had left her weak in the legs. She managed to slide her panties back on and collect the rest of her clothing.

One of her boots was lying only a few feet from the corpse sprawled out beneath the plant-infested vent. Claire picked up the boot and looked down on the dead man with disgust. How she had managed to have sex while thing like that was lying in the room made her wonder about herself. During her short time with Ada, Claire had discovered things about herself she thought she had been better off not knowing.

When Claire turned back towards Ada, she was sliding her red dress up over her bare chest. Her nipples were red and swollen from Claire's mouth and she savored the sight of them as they disappeared beneath the fabric. "Was it good for you?" Ada asked.

Claire nodded, no point in denying it now. "It'll be better when we're out of this place," Claire said.

Ada shrugged. "Maybe. The danger is something of a turn on, don't you think?"

Claire had her shorts and vest on and was putting on her boots. She cast a glance back at the dead scientist and shook her head. "I think some music and a hot bath is all I need."

Ada slipped on her shoes and checked her gun. "Different strokes I suppose," she said. "Ready to get moving? We're a short walk and an elevator ride away."

Claire nodded, now fully dressed. She checked her own gun to ensure it was chambered and that it was in working order. "Let's go."

They exited the room and Claire followed Ada as she jogged down the hallway. The made their way through two doors and down a strange hallway marked with red lights along the wall. It led into a small circular room where three hallways, including the one they were in, linked. Ada headed down the hallway lit with the white, fluorescent bulbs and through a large door at the end.

They had returned to the room where the large service lift had dropped them off. The elevator they wanted was at the end of a hall, past a small office. There was a slight problem; about a dozen zombies were between them and the elevator. "Where did they come from?" Claire said, taking aim at a tall zombies head.

"We probably opened up a holding pen when we unlocked the doors," Ada said, firing at one of the zombies.

All of the zombies were large, naked men. Large sections of their skin were missing, exposing the muscle tissue beneath. The sections looked to have been surgically removed, as opposed to chewed off. All of the men were bald, their genitals removed.

Claire fired and the top of one's skull exploded, sending coagulated blood, bone and brain matter flying through the air and spattering on the floor behind the zombie. She took aim and fired again, destroying the face of another zombie and making it crumple to the floor.

They were forced to back up as they fired, the zombies took no heed of their fallen comrades and continued to advance even as they were hit with the spray of gore caused by the bullets penetrating the skulls of the other zombies next to them. Ada and Claire made short work of the zombies before they got close enough to bite and ran forward towards the elevator door in case something else came after them. Claire took care not to step on one of the corpses or slip in the large pool of rotten blood on the floor.

Once inside the large elevator, Ada pushed a button on a panel separate from the main control. "This should take us down to where we need to be," Ada said.

As the elevator began to close, Claire looked back at the pile of bodies they had created. Looks like we'll survive this after all, Claire thought.

Something lumbered into the large room from the hallway they had entered through. Claire's jaw dropped and Ada gasped. It stood twelve feet high on two humanoid legs wrapped it torn blue jeans. Beyond that, its similarities to a human being ended. The torso was huge and supported four grotesque arms, the top two of which were tipped with long claws. A small, skull-like head topped the mass of bubbling, bleeding flesh.

Its most disturbing feature was the massive yellow eye rolling around in a socket that was set into one of the oversized arms. It swiveled to look at Ada and Claire, as they both raised their guns to open fire. As the elevator doors closed, slowly, their bullets struck the creature sending blood flying through the air. The creature took no notice of its wounds and continued to advance. "Shit," Ada said. "This isn't good."

Claire was trying to put a bullet in the things massive shoulder-eye. The closing doors made shooting the creature harder, but so long as they shut before it got to them, Claire wouldn't complain. The doors finally shut and the elevator began to move. "What the hell was that thing?" Claire asked, checking her gun too see how many bullets she had left.

Ada was giving the top of the elevator door a hard look. "I'm not sure. I don't remember hearing anything about it. Let's just hope it doesn't follow us."

Claire recalled the mutant that had attacked them near the sewage treatment plant. She remembered that it had been dressed like a man wearing blue jeans. How many mutants wear jeans? Claire thought. "It might be the same thing that came after us back near the sewers, remember?"

Ada nodded. "Maybe it shed its skin or mutated somehow."

The elevator slowed to a stop and the door opened. The room before them was a walkway flanked on either side by two massive tanks, holding what, Claire didn't know. Ada was the first to walk towards the hallway at the other end. On the wall was a sign that read TRAIN with an arrow pointing down the hall to the right. Claire smiled when she saw it, finally, the goal was in sight.

They were halfway down the walkway when something heavy slammed down on a panel above the doorway. Dust and debris fell onto the floor, heralding the descent of the massive creature. Its legs slammed into the floor and buckled under the creature's weight, causing it to fall to the floor on its hands.

Clair didn't think it seemed to need its legs. It propped itself up on its arms and extended its skull-like head forward. Suddenly, the front of the creature exploded in a wash of blood and fluid, soaking the floor. Clair had covered her face in case some of it hit her. Thankfully, none of it did, and when she looked at the creature again, it now resembled some horrible dog, standing on all fours with a hole of a mouth surrounded by long teeth.

Ada fired a shot at it and ran back towards the elevator. Claire followed. Just before the elevator, Ada veered off to her left. Clair now noticed that there was a pathway that led around to the back of either tank. Claire had the presence of mind to take the opposite route of Ada, that way the creature couldn't chase them both.

Claire ran around the giant orange tank with its bizarre valves and pipes and realized that the thing had elected to follow her. Casting a glance backward, she saw it cramming its bulk through the narrow passage, its maw opening and closing for her.

Her primary worry wasn't the creature; it was the fear Ada would leave without her. All that talk about being partners hadn't fooled Claire. She had to make her way to the other end of the room and to the train along with Ada, or she was likely to be left behind.

Clair poured on the speed, wishing Ada hadn't been so rough back in the scientist's quarters. Her legs weren't as responsive as they should have been, but fear and adrenaline did much to compensate.

Claire could feel the vibrations the creature sent through the metal walkway as it thundered behind her. Claire made it to the far corner, where she turned hard to her right. The loud thud of the creature slamming into the wall told Claire that it couldn't corner as well as she could. Claire could now see Ada's backside as it disappeared predictably down the hallway that led to the train.

Claire followed, not looking back to see how close the creature was. When she entered the hallway with Ada, she could see the train. It was a rusty orange, like everything else down on this level of the laboratory. Somehow, the train had begun to move.

"Ada!" Claire shouted.

"Hurry! It's leaving!" Ada shouted back.

With the monster behind them, spurring them on, the two women bolted down the hall and onto the train platform. As luck would have it, a car with an open door passed them just as they made it to the platform. Ada jumped, followed by Claire. Claire slammed into Ada as she hit the ground and rolled off her, just in time to feel the entire train shake from the monster colliding with it.

Claire got to her feet, along with Ada and looked around. The car they were in was large, with no seats to speak of. Claire guessed it was for transporting cargo, not personnel. "Why did the train start?" Claire asked as she turned and shut the door.

"It might be on an automated schedule. The people down here put a lot of responsibility into the hands of computer systems," Ada said.

The back of the car suddenly crumpled. The dog-like mutant had jumped onto the roof of the car and collapsed it so that it now shared the car with them. They wasted no time in running into the next car. "How are we going to get rid of that thing?" Claire shouted as they ran.

"We can unbuckle the cars near the front of the train and strand it," Ada shouted back.

Claire ran towards the front of the train and into the main car along with Ada. Claire stopped at the door and let Ada run ahead. Claire could see the creature tearing its way through the car after them and she began firing bullets at what she guessed might be its vital parts. The white, skull-like structure resting above the nest of teeth caught three of her bullets. The creature seemed to be slowed slightly, but not stopped. Claire continued firing until her gun clicked empty.

Claire was about to throw the gun at the monster when she heard the link at her feet unbuckle and saw the car containing the monster move backward, away from her. Claire waved goodbye to it and moved to the front of the car where she found Ada sitting on a green chair, bolted to the wall. "Do you think it will follow us?" Claire asked.

Ada sighed. "Maybe for a little while. After that it'll crawl off and pursue whatever bizarre motives it has in its head until an Umbrella cleanup crew takes care of it."

"Will Umbrella come after us?" Claire asked.

Ada nodded. "If I don't contact them and give them what I was paid to retrieve, yes."

Claire sat down across from Ada, on another green chair. "What did they want you to get?"

"A sample of the G-Virus," Ada said. "I had someone who worked in the lab meet me in the police station and hand it off. Shortly after that, I met you."

"What happened to the contact?"

Ada smiled. "Zombies got him. Pity, he was going to get paid quite a bit for his help. Maybe you'll be compensated in his place."

Claire knew she was out of bullets. If Ada was going to shoot her, there was nothing she could do about it except hope that she had been telling the truth about all that partner business earlier.

Ada didn't shoot. Instead, she closed her eyes and leaned backward.

Chapter Eleven.

Claire stood up, setting her gun down on her seat. Ada's eyes opened but he head remained held back, rested on the wall of the train. Ada's eyes followed Claire as she undid the zipper on her vest, and slid it off. Next, she removed her black shirt, leaving nothing to cover he chest but her bra.

Ada let a smile creep across her tired face as Claire straddled her on the bench. Ada's hands moved around and gripped Claire's buttocks tightly to prevent her from falling backward. "As many times as you've been laid today, you still want it?" Ada said, looking up at Claire.

Claire wrapped her arms around the back of Ada's head and pulled her in closer. "Aren't you glad you kept me around?" she said. If I'm going to live, I'd better at least pretend to be putty in her hands, Claire thought.

Ada responded by clutching Claire's bran in her teeth and pulling it down over her breast, letting them spill out over the top. Gently, she gave Claire's right nipple a quick flick wit her tongue before taking it into her mouth.

Claire's body tended up as Ada sucked her nipple in, past her teeth, and began whipping it with her tongue. It sent spasms of pleasure through Claire's back and down her body, making her wet between the legs. "How long before the train gets to where it's going?" Claire asked.

Ada let Claire's breast go with a wet popping sound. "It'll stop before it reaches its destination. We'll get off there; it shouldn't be more than half an hour." Ada began sucking on Claire's other breast, while she slid one hand off Claire's ass to massage the other tit.

Claire closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of having her nipples sucked and fondled, and her ass squeezed. Sure, maybe the person doing it was an amoral spy, but she was an attractive amoral spy and knew what she was doing. Claire thought that this might not be one of her prouder moments, but who was around to care?

Suddenly, both of Ada's hands were supporting Claire's thighs. Ada lifted Claire up and walked her over to the other seat. With Claire now sitting in the seat, and Ada kneeling before her, Ada began unzipping Claire's shorts. Quickly, Claire was stripped to her panties. Ada wasted no time in pulling them down past Claire's knees and spreading her legs apart.

Ada's tongue rolling around in the folds of her vagina made Claire close her eyes, tilt her head back, and forget her numerous troubles. The tension between Claire's legs built with every movement of Ada's tongue. Ada seemed to know how long to keep a steady rhythm and when to mix it up. She also knew how to tease. She would lick up towards and around, Claire's clitoris, only to avoid it completely and drive her tongue deep inside her, where she rolled it around frantically.

Claire was breathing hard and loud, not caring if she moaned loudly or not. They were the only two on the train and they had left all of the zombies and mutants behind them. When she felt the tension peak, she grabbed the top of Ada's head and held on as her hips began to buck and heave violently to the waves of the orgasm that was rocking her body.

Ada didn't stop her licking, she kept at it with renewed vigor as Claire came, causing the orgasm to maintain its intensity. When it dipped and Claire thought it was over, Ada moved her tongue, causing another great wave to hit her. Claire's higher thought functions shut off and she was taken to a place where thinking didn't exist, only sensation. Claire wasn't sure, but she thought she might have screamed Ada's name, just before coming back down to earth.

Claire slumped forward over Ada, her energy gone. Ada helped Claire slide gently to the floor, where she lay, panting heavily. "W-wow," Claire said, pulling her legs up towards her chest. "Ada…"

Ada patted Claire on the head. "Relax, I'm good for a while yet. Consider it a freebee for a job well done."

Spy on Umbrella, find Chris, get paid…have sex like this…oh, what the hell…it can't be THAT bad…Claire thought as she lay, breathing on the floor of the train as it rumbled towards parts unknown. She looked up at Ada, who was looking towards the front of the car. Ada cast a short glance at Claire, smiled, and looked back. Can't be that bad at all…

The End.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One.

The sound of thunder was loud enough for Claire to feel it through the cell wall, although it did nothing to distract her from the dampness or how tired she was.

Now and again, lighting would flash and light her tiny prison, allowing her to see the empty room with the desk for an instant. The interrogation had taken a lot out of her, but the memory of it wouldn't let her sleep. She was glad that whoever was assigned to the desk was off playing hooky, as she wasn't in the mood to look at anyone at the moment.

The thunder continued and it began to rain, making Claire wonder if she hadn't been taken to some tropical location. It was certainly hot enough on the rocky island, which she had learned was called Rockfort. She had seen little of the island outside of the prison, and of that, only her cell, the yard, and the interrogation room.

She supposed that for a remote island run by the Umbrella Corporation, she had been treated well. She still had all of her body parts and to the best of her knowledge hadn't been infected with any experimental viruses. If the worst she ended up with were a few bruises and blows to her pride, then she would count herself lucky.

Her luck wouldn't hold out for long. She had told them she was snooping around the Paris facility because she was looking for information on her brother. She hadn't admitted to being an industrial spy, nor had she mentioned her partner, Ada Wong.

She had escaped Raccoon City with the help of Ada, who had made the offer to become partners after finding out how well they worked together. Claire remembered their first meeting in the office of the former Raccoon City Police Chief. Claire thought she had stumbled upon a crazy person when Ada had offered to trade sex for protection and a way out of the city. Claire had accepted, having run low on ammo. During their escape, Claire had gotten more action from Ada than she had ever gotten in all her semesters at college.

Part of her enjoyed the spy work. It was exciting. It made her somebody, like her brother. Better yet, it put her at odds with Umbrella.

"What a way to go," she said just before another flash of lighting lit her cell. Thunder rumbled quietly in the distance, but some of it sounded closer.

She wondered if Ada was missing her. Claire had no illusions about Ada coming to her rescue. Even though they had become lovers, the relationship was a strange one. "Lovers," Claire said, listening to the word die in the darkness. She rolled over and faced the wall as the sound of thunder grew louder.

Her eyes closed, there being nothing but a dark wall to look at.

She dreamed about her brother flying a jet. She was riding in the back and the aircraft was shaking, making booming sounds as it did so. She was shouting at Chris, asking what was wrong. His calm replies annoyed her and she shouted louder until she awoke.

The shaking and the booming hadn't stopped with her dream. Her cell was now lit with the orange glow of a fire outside. Standing up on her bunk, she looked out the barred window at the plumes of smoke and fire. Explosions were going off all over the island, sending vibrations through the building she was imprisoned in.

Claire could hear the sound of jet engines over the explosions and for a brief moment thought the cavalry had come to her rescue. As much as she wanted that to be the case, it didn't fit. A bombing raid on an island without first doing some sort of recon didn't seem like the methods of the United States or the U.N.

Bits of plaster and cement were raining down on her head making her fearful of being blown up herself. Thinking that being buried in rubble might be better that whatever Umbrella had planned for her, Claire sat on her cot and waited, praying that none of the bombs fell on her.

Claire had fallen asleep again, too tired and worn out to let something like an air raid keep her awake. She dreamed again. This time she was back in Raccoon City running though a back alley thick with the stench of rot. All around her were corpses, reaching for her with their dirty hands and mouths. Terrified, she woke up with the smell of decay in her nose and a low moan in her ears.

The room was dark, the fires outside having burned down. Claire could make out the shape of a man standing in front of the bars on her cell. He was swaying and when he sensed her stir he reached through the bars and moaned.

"Jesus," Claire said, recognizing the zombie for what it was. It's presence meant that experiments were being conducted on the island and that the T-Virus had escaped. Now God only knew what was crawling around in the rubble. The thought also made her realize she had no way of getting out of her cell.

She took off her shoe and felt the warm metal of the Zippo lighter that had been nestled under the arch of her foot. It had caused her quite a bit of discomfort to keep it hidden there, but was the one place on her body that the guards hadn't checked. She put her shoe back on and reluctantly lit the lighter.

She recognized the zombie. It was the guard who sat at the desk directly in front of her cell. He had done nothing to her and seemed to be disgusted by what had happened. He had done nothing to stop it, so Claire didn't feel too bad for the man. His skin was an ashen gray, and despite his stench there was little in the way of visible decay at least on his face.

Claire's focus was on his belt where his keys should have been. Crouched in front of the zombie, she was weighing the risks of reaching into his pockets when a gunshot made her shriek and fall backward. The zombie slumped to the ground and Claire scrambled to pick up the lighter. There was no hiding the fact that she was alive in the cell, so she held the light up to try and get a look at who had likely come to kill her.

A slender figure stepped lightly towards her, revealing short dark hair, a round face, and a red dress. "Was he bothering you?" Ada asked, standing to reveal her thigh through the long slip of her dress. Claire blinked and wondered if this wasn't another dream.

"He was," Claire said. "Thanks."

"What were you doing by his crotch?"

Claire scrunched her face. "Looking for his keys. Speaking of that, can you let me out?"

"Clever girl," Ada said, tapping the guard's pockets with her toe. Satisfied he had nothing, she went over to the desk and searched it, using a small pen light. Claire closed her lighter when she heard Ada jingle something metallic.

Ada opened the cell door and entered before Claire could leave. Shutting it behind her, Claire heard her holster her gun as she stepped within inches of Claire's face. "Did they hurt you?" Ada asked.

Claire said nothing, but nodded while looking at Ada's shoulder. "I'm fine, though," she whispered.

Ada's lips locked around Claire's and she felt the other woman's tongue probe her mouth. She returned the affection, letting her fingertips touch the smooth fabric of Ada's dress. She pulled her mouth back. "What happened outside?"

Brushing Claire's bangs away from her face, Ada shrugged. "Someone bombed the island. Who did it and why, I don't know. I came here on a boat after I found out what sort of experiments were being conducted."

Claire felt her heart sink and immediately felt stupid for it. "What are they up to?" she said, hoping her errant emotion hadn't shown through.

"A lot of the usual. Viruses, mutants, that kind of thing. This place also happens to be a treasure trove of incriminating information and original Umbrella research. The Ashfords, one of the company's founding families, have a mansion somewhere on the island."

That was intriguing, Claire thought. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan is you stick close to me for now," Ada said, pressing herself against Claire. "And we see what we can find."

"Can I borrow a gun?"

"If you're good," Ada said, kissing Claire's neck. She stepped backward and sat down on the bench. Ada coaxed her into lying on her back where she unzipped Claire's red vest and took it off along with the black shirt underneath, leaving Claire in a plain black bra. Ada's hands ran over Claire's bare skin, making her tingle. Ada herself seemed to be enjoying more, though.

"It's been a while," she said. "I didn't think I'd get to you before it was too late. I was beginning to think my missions would go back to being boring."

"Never a dull moment with me," Claire said, wondering if they even had time for this sort of thing. There had been plenty of instances in Raccoon City where sex didn't seem appropriate, but that had never bothered Ada. In fact, she seemed to like it that way.

Ada had worked herself into a kind of frenzy, pawing at Claire's bare skin and removing her bra. After taking the full course of Claire's breasts, leaving them a little sore, Ada had Claire's pants off and was working on her undergarments when there was a sound in the hallway outside the cell.

Claire looked, squinting into the dark. Ada wasn't distracted and slipped a went pair of fingers over Claire's clitoris. She felt the other woman's hand brush against the course stubble of her pubic hair that was growing back. Ada liked her shaved, but she had missed a few days.

"Ada, we've got company."

"We're behind bars and I've got a gun," Ada said, wetting her fingers in her mouth again and sliding them deeper into Claire.

She heard what sounded like a small group of zombies shuffling into the room. She saw their outlines as they made it to the bars of the cell. The smell filled the room along with their hungry moans. "Damn," Claire said, wincing as Ada slipped a third finger into her. "Ada, the zombies."

"Let them watch," Ada said, sliding her own dress up far enough to facilitate the removal of her panties. She slid them down over her black hosiery and let them drop to the floor.

Claire slid backward and let Ada, who was quite nimble, arranged herself so their clitorises mashed together. Propping herself up on her elbows, she focused entirely on the sensation of the contact between her and Ada. Pleasure built up inside of her steadily and easily, the sounds of the creature's nearby were far away. Their smell wasn't, but she breathed through her mouth and tried not to taste it.

Claire made the sounds she knew Ada liked to hear from her, and soon the other woman was cumming. She made no effort to stifle herself and let out loud screams and deep moans that joined the howls of the undead not ten feet away. Claire's orgasm hit her by surprise and she nearly fell off the cot from its intensity. Ada was right, it had been a while since they had been together and didn't realize how badly she had missed it.

Sitting on the cot with her head down, Claire breathed hard and tried to ignore the smell from the zombies. "Can we go soon? I hate being in this cell."

"Alright," Ada said. "Let's explore and find some bigger guns if we can. No telling what else we'll run into."

Chapter Two.

If Ada had an extra weapon, she wasn't passing it to Claire. The area outside Claire's prison was a graveyard. She could see the simple gray headstones, wet with rain, in the light of the burning building nearby.

There were four gray corpses standing in the yard. Their limbs were thin and their torsos bloated with rot. Raising their arms, they let out moans and moved towards Ada and Claire. Ada put them down with four bullets. "I'm hoping the bombs kept the number of zombies down," Ada said. "Unless we find more ammo, we might have a problem."

"When do I get a gun?" Claire asked, flowing Ada as she went around the mud of the graveyard and towards a steel door set into a stone wall.

"Just stick close to me and you'll be fine," Ada said. "If we find some ammo to burn, I'll let you have a weapon."

Claire was a decent enough shot, and Ada knew it. Her not having a gun had little to do with ammo conservation and more to do with the game Ada enjoyed playing. Defenseless, Claire had to depend on Ada for protection, which was how Ada liked it. Claire figured she would be asked to put out again as soon as they were under some sort of cover, perhaps after Ada had killed something.

Through the steel door was a prison yard that doubled as road. A pile of rubble was off to their right, a guard tower to their left. Farther left was an open gate that led down a road and up ahead was another door leading into a compound that appeared to have escaped much of the damage from the air strike.

"Look," Claire said, pointing to the body of a prison guard lying half in, half out of the rubble. "Cover me."

"Careful," Ada said, as Claire went over to the body and nudged it with her foot. It didn't turn to bite and she commenced tugging at the belt around the body's waist. She found the guard's sidearm, a black 9mm pistol, and was looking for spare clips when there was a rapid series of pops from behind her and she was suddenly being sprayed with dirt.

She leaped backward and rolled behind a slab of broken concrete as bullets landed sporadically around her. Unsure of where the shots were coming from, she looked to see that Ada had taken cover near the base of the tower and was looking up.

The gunfire stopped as Ada returned fire. She was too close to the tower to hit whatever was in it, but she used the moment of reprieve to back away for a better angle. Claire trained her gun on the dark room at the top of the guard tower as well and saw a pair of white hands waving. "Sorry," came a voice. It sounded like a young man. "I thought you were zombies."

"We're not," Ada said. "Come down."

There was an access door at the tower's base and after a few seconds it opened. The voice's owner was in fact a young man. He wore fatigue pants and a black vest over a tattered t-shirt. His brown hair was in need of a cut, and he wore a black collar around his neck.

Claire lowered her weapon, but Ada didn't. Claire shouted for her not to shoot and thought for a moment she might be ignored.

The man held his hands up in front of him, sensing Ada's intent. "Whoa, come on, I'm a human," he said. "I'm not a guard."

Ada lowered her gun, casting a quick sideways glance at Claire. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice cold.

"My name is Steve," the young man said. "I'm a prisoner here. Who are two?"

"None of your business," Ada said. "Now get lost."

"Hang on," Claire said, standing up and walking over. She was fine letting Ada take the lead, but she was by no means the boss, especially when she wasn't the only one with a gun anymore. "My name is Claire and this is Ada."

"He can't come with us," Ada said. "In case you forgot, we've got a job to do. At least I do."

Claire locked eyes with Ada. They were cold and held a glint of annoyance. Lovers or not, Claire knew Ada's first loyalty was to the job and she didn't let things get in her way. Knowing this was a poor time to test a theory, she held Ada's gaze and hoped to convey the fact that she wasn't going to budge.

Ada didn't relent, but something in her shifted and she now looked at Steve in a way Claire wasn't sure she liked. Steve said nothing during their silent exchange but managed a sheepish grin.

"You're right, leaving him to his own devices would be a waste," Ada said. "Come along, Steve. Keep your head down and your mouth shut and don't try to be cute. We've got business here and we're not leaving until it's done, understood?"

"Whatever," he said. You've got the firepower."

"What was that you were shooting up there?" Claire asked.

"It's like a machine gun," he said. "It's bolted to a stand and heavy, otherwise I'd have taken it down here."

"In that case, make yourself useful and check the bodies in the yard for ammunition," Ada said. "We're going to look through the prison compound first, then we'll head that way."

"Check the bodies? No way," Steve said.

A chill ran down Claire's spine as she could feel from where she stood the look Ada was giving Steve, who quailed beneath it. "Alright, alright," he said, trying to sound calm. "I'm going."

The two women stood in the rain while Steve went to the few corpses in the yard. Claire seemed to have found the only guard with gun that hadn't been lost or sunk into the mud out of sight. He came back with two clips which he handed to Ada and a half empty box of shells which Claire took.

"You've been here a while," Ada said. "What's in the compound over there?"

"I don't know," he said. "People who get sent there don't come back to talk about it."

"Sounds like fun," Ada said. "Lead the way."

"What?"

"I said lead the way. Pick up that piece of rebar and we'll cover you," Ada said.

Steve picked up the iron bar and looked like he wasn't so sure about wanting an armed, female escort anymore. Claire considered arguing, but thought she had pushed her luck with Ada as far as it would go. For now.

Doing as he was told, looking from side to side in a nervous fashion, Steve moved towards the door to the prison compound with Ada and Claire walking behind. Claire hoped Ada would be careful about not shooting the boy should something dangerous occur, which she knew it would.

Chapter Three.

They walked past a wooden structure that appeared to be a bunkhouse or a mess hall. It was up on three foot stilts with wire mesh wrapped around the bottom to keep animals out. Large gaps had been ripped in the wire and while the lights from the prison lamp posts did little to illuminate the area, Claire could see bits of blood and gore dripping from the sharp wires and drag marks in the dirt.

Her first thought was zombie dogs, but knowing Umbrella, anything could have taken up residence beneath the building. "Let's look in there," Ada said, pointing to the building. "There might be more ammunition."

The three of them halted in front of the steps until Steve realized that he was supposed to go first. Keeping his piece of rebar poised for a strike, he walked down the long porch and through the wooden door, which creaked to announce their arrival.

There were three zombies standing in a large room set up with two large tables. Food and other debris were scattered everywhere and the entire placed reeked of human musk in addition to the stench of rot wafting off their attackers. Ada shot the one closest to her, while Claire downed the second. Steve struck one in the head, a black man dressed like a guard, and it sunk to its knees. Its mouth still open, trying to bite, Steve struck it again, this time caving in the top of the skull and doing enough damage to the brain to kill it.

"These look like prisoners," Claire said. "I don't think we'll find a lot of bullets in here."

"Look anyway," Ada said.

They split up. Ada searched the main mess hall while Claire and Steve moved towards the back. Claire searched a storage area while Steve moved to the bunks.

Claire noticed a rattling on the roof and it took her a moment to realize that the rain was starting up again. A roll of thunder confirmed it. Not finding anything useful in the storage room, she joined Ada in the mess hall.

"Where's the boy?" she asked, her eyes narrow slits.

"Back there. Why?"

Ada walked over to her and leaned in. "Because," she whispered. "Even if he is who he says he is, we're spies and we can't afford to lose track of people."

Claire was about to protest when Steve shouted "All right!"

As Ada and Claire ran to the bunk room, they heard glass being shattered. They rounded the corner and stepped into a narrow hall where they could see Steve halfway out a window. "So long, ladies," he said. Claire noticed that he had what appeared to be a machine pistol in his left hand, while a second had been tucked into the back of his pants.

Ada's gun came up, but Claire knocked her forearm upward, causing the shot to go high and bury itself into the wood above the window Steve had jumped from. Ada was fast; she brought her arms over Claire's head and wrapped her forearm under her chin, pulling her in close and off balance. Hooking Claire's feet with her own, Ada leaned forward sending Claire to the ground on her stomach and in a choke hold.

Claire dropped her gun and tried to wriggle free of Ada's grip. "Who's side are you on?" Ada asked. Claire tried to push herself up or roll Ada off to the side but each of her efforts were confounded by some wrestling trick Ada employed. "Struggle all you want, you're not getting up until I let you."

"Let me up," Claire said. "Have you lost your mind?"

Ada expertly positioned each of Claire's arms behind her and stood up, taking Claire up with her. Ada didn't apply more pressure than was necessary, but Claire was keenly aware that she would have a pair of broken arms should she struggle to hard. Ada walked Claire further into the bunk area and turned her around while keeping her arms pinned behind her back.

The leverage was still in Ada's favor, despite them now being face to face and standing. Ada pressed her lips against Claire's, shoving her tongue deep into her mouth. Claire made a muffled sound as Ada was going for depth and force. Claire tried to push the other woman's tongue out, but couldn't.

Ada broke the kiss but didn't pull her lips back more than a few centimeters. "You're still too sentimental. In this business, that gets you killed. It could get me killed, and I can't have that," Ada said.

"He's just a kid," Claire said. "A kidnapped kid. I won't let you hurt him." Ada squeezed her wrists and pulled upward on her arms slightly, stopping just short of causing pain. Their eyes met again and Claire looked into Ada's gaze as she had out in the yard, hoping that she would be able to draw another line.

"Fine," Ada said. "But don't make this a habit." She brushed her lips against Claire's. "We're partners because we work well together. If you turn in to a liability, I might have to break it off."

She kissed Claire again and this time was offered no resistance. Claire caressed Ada's tongue with her own as it violently probed her mouth, wondering why Ada's words stung as they did. She followed Ada for two reasons: Finding her brother, Chris, and harming Umbrella, Inc. Or so she had reminded herself many nights in hotel rooms and other places.

She almost didn't notice her pants had been slid down and Ada had gone to her knees. Claire gasped when she felt Ada's warm tongue between her legs, as aggressive and probing as it had been in her mouth. For a few moments, Ada's tongue work was clearly for her own pleasure, lacking rhythm or pacing. Ada was tasting her, drinking her in. Soon, she settled down to business and developed a pattern of undulating licks to Claire's clitoris, punctuated by brief sessions of wild probing.

Claire held on to the top bunk in an effort not to fall as she approached orgasm. When it hit, she shrieked louder than she had intended and was unable to control it while Ada's tongue didn't hold back.

When she was done, she sank downward and sat on the lower bunk to catch her breath. With her pants still down around her ankles, she was handed her gun. "Come on," Ada said. "We need to get moving. You can owe me one."

"Alright," Claire said, pulling up her pants. "But still, no shooting Steve."

"I've got other ideas for Steve," Ada said. "If he's going to be running around, knowing we're here, I want to keep an eye on him. Next time I get him where I want him, you and I are going to make sure that he doesn't want to leave our side ever again."

Claire buttoned her jeans and zipped them up. She knew exactly what Ada had planned, but wondered how she would go about accomplishing it.

Chapter Four.

They went further into the prison compound, down narrow alleys of mesh fences and aluminum sided buildings. Rain had made the ground soft, but better drainage systems in the heart of the prison had kept it from becoming a soggy morass like the cemetery farther back.

Claire figured this was where the guards slept and the real work within the prison was done. Through darkened windows she could see the square lights of computer monitors and exit signs. In some buildings, the silhouettes of people could be seen, wandering listless as though drunk.

They heard the wails of half a dozen diseased windpipes before they came across the mesh fence enclosure that held zombie prisoners. They clamored at the fence, digging their gray fingers into the wire and working their jaws, perhaps imaging in their own limited fashion what it would be like to sink their teeth into Claire and Ada's flesh. Claire noticed a wooden guillotine in the enclosure with them, stained brown with blood and rain. The medieval look of the machine clashed with the modern surroundings and made her wonder just what this place was for.

"He went this way," Ada said, pointing to fresh tracks in the mud. "And he didn't shoot them. Either he's low an ammunition or he's smarter than I think he is."

"Just don't kill him," Claire said. "I don't like it when you kill anyone, but this is different."

Ada shrugged as she approached a door leading into a long building. She listened first, and holding her gun in her left hand, she gripped the knob with her right. "Do you think he's cute?" she asked.

Claire let out a flustered breath. Typical Ada. Her mind seemed to revolve around one thing, regardless of how dangerous things were. While she never let it interfere with the mission or survival, Ada seemed to consume sex like everyone else consumed air.

"He's cute, yes," Claire said. There was no sense in lying to Ada about it, either. They had shared too much for it to be worthwhile. "Still, that's not why I want him alive. You know that."

"He needs to be brought to heel," Ada said. "Seeing as how it's your idea to keep him alive, you're at least going to help me do it and it'll be easier if you think he's cute. That's all."

As the door opened it dawned on her what Ada was contemplating. Ada stepped back, her weapon raised. A man dressed in a bloody prison guard uniform walked outside, his shoulders slumped much like half of his ruined face. He let out a moan and was silenced by Ada's pistol.

Ada waited. "Quickly, feel for a light switch," she said.

Claire reached inside the door frame and patted the wall on the left, she found a row of switched and flipped them all up. The ceiling lights flickered to life, revealing four zombie guards making their way past furniture towards the noises they heard. Claire shot two while Ada killed the rest.

Killing zombies was easier than killing most things, provided one kept a cool head and they were few in number. Since Raccoon, Claire was a veteran of half a dozen jobs with Ada that had involved small numbers of T-virus test subjects. Nothing on the scale of Raccoon City, but enough to make her practiced in dispatching T-virus carriers without wasting ammo or being bitten.

"Those look like his tracks," Ada said, pointing at the muddy prints on the floor. They were too clear and far apart to be from the zombies, which left their own distinctive smears on the tiled floor. "He didn't shoot in here, even with the zombies."

"What do you plan to do with him when you catch him?" Claire asked.

"Give him a reason to keep close," she said. "I think you know what that means."

"He's a little young, isn't he?"

Ada laughed and began walking through the room. It was bigger than it needed to be for what it housed, a few long tables with half a dozen computers that flashed blue screens of they showed anything at all. Once she was certain that it contained no hidden threats, she and Claire met at the start of a hallway that appeared to be some sort of checkpoint. Sensor plates had been built into the door frame and Claire could see some sort of metal bin just before the sensors. Past them was a long hallway with high windows overlooking some kind of open area. She could see zombie prisoners staggering outside through the dirty glass.

Ada took a step through and was nearly hit by a steel door that slammed down from the ceiling. "Please place all metal objects in bin before proceeding," said a mechanical voice over a speaker. To Ada's right, a metal bin opened like the glove compartment on a car.

"Damn," Ada said, looking into the bin. "Ah, what's this." She reached in and pulled out two automatic pistols by their trigger guards. "It looks like Stephen is down that hallway, alone and defenseless. It'd be cruel not to go rescue him, don't you think?"

Claire's response was cut off by her surprise when Ada handed her the pistols, as well as her own gun. Ada unhooked the pouch she was carrying and handed that over as well. She hit a button on the side of the wall that was flashing red and the door rose, opening the hallway once more.

"This may take a minute," Ada said. "See if you can't get any of these computers to work, don't leave this room, and above all, be ready for anything."

"Don't hurt him," Claire said.

"Yes, yes," Ada said, walking down the hallway, swaying her hips. Claire wondered if she should feel jealous, but could only think of what Ada might do to Steve if he resisted too much.

Chapter Five.

Steve Burnside sat in a dark room in front of a computer, hitting keys like a madman. He had already figured out that the computer wasn't going to tell him about the fate of his father, so he had set out to learn other things.

He had printed out a map of the island and marked where he thought some weapons might be stored, in addition some possible escape points. The general plan was to go past the military base, get some firepower, and then make his way to the airport. After that, all he had to do was not die in a crash.

With that all laid out, he began to search for prisoners named Claire or Ada. Women were far and few between on Rockfort, and it didn't take him long to call up the file of Claire Redfield, who, according to the dossier, was someone quite interesting. She had been processed as a prisoner a few days ago, that much he had guessed by her appearance. Judging by the file, Umbrella was quite happy to have her.

She was involved in the Raccoon City incident and that she had lived was no small feat. That she had partnered up with the woman known as Ada Wong and was now basically a spy was even more interesting to Steve. Scanning more files, Steve learned that Claire's brother, Chris, was also something of a real life action hero and a serious thorn in Umbrella's side.

His jaw dropped when he read through the Wong file, which mentioned the suspected depths of the relationship between her and Claire. "Whoa, hot," he said.

"Enough to burn," said a female voice that was more of a purr. He leaped up from his chair but found himself being spun around twice and shoved back down into a sitting position.

Ada Wong stood in front of him, half lit by the computer monitor. He couldn't see her face clearly, but the strip of thigh she let through her dress and the tops of her breasts held his attention.

"You've been busy," she said. "Is that a map you have there? An escape plan? Very clever."

"L-look, I don't want any trouble, lady, okay?" Steve said, holding his hands up. His masculine pride bruised at cowing to a woman, but something about how she had handled him a moment before made it clear that any violence on his part would be met with a broken bone. "C'mon, I'm just another prisoner. My dad and I were taken here months ago, I just want to find him and leave. He doesn't know anything, just a low level flunky who heard too much, that's all."

He didn't like downplaying his father, but his life might depend on it.

"I don't want any trouble either, Steve," Ada said, stepping forward. She put one long leg across his lap, followed by the other. He leaned backward, a sense of propriety repelling his face from the dark line of cleavage coming closer to him. He felt her forearms rest over his shoulders, gentle but not letting him go anywhere.

He felt his cock begin to shift and a blush rise to his face. The prison, the zombies, the bombing, and now this. Had he snapped somewhere along the way?

"Steve," Ada said. "Claire and I have a job to do, one we can't do if people are running around doing God knows what. You've probably alerted Umbrella to the fact that someone is poking around in this facility with the hacking you've been doing and who knows what damage you'll cause if you keep doing things like that."

She used his chin to catch on the neck of her dress and slid it down over her breast, exposing her light skin and pink nipples to the computer screen's light. Pressing the area between her legs down over his groin, Steve's cock stiffened immediately. "Um," he said. "Um, uh, ah…"

"I'm glad we see eye to eye," Ada said, arching her back to that her breasts were the only things in Steve's line of sight. "All you have to do is stay where I can see you and do what I say. That way, we all get to live and be happy. Understand?"

Steve nodded. If he had known she was this serious, he would've have run off to begin with. Hadn't she been the one advocating for his execution? Even with the metal detector keeping her weapon-free, she could have killed him, he thought. Was this Claire's idea?

"Let's seal the deal, then," Ada said. "If you're good, we'll seal it more later."

Like clothing being pulled down, Ada slid her body off Steve's lap and down his knees so that she knelt before him. She undid the buttons on his fatigues and pulled them down a few inches. He saw his cock spring forth briefly before it disappeared into Ada's mouth.

"Oh," he said, looking up briefly and then back down at the black head of hair that now bobbed up and down over his groin. She took him all the way in, her lips touching his naval and scrotum before drawing back up. Her heard wet sounds as her hot saliva ran down his shaft and into his pubic hair.

Using her hand to steady it, she began to apply suction to the top half of his dick while wagging her tongue over the sensitive front. He gripped the chair hard and felt his toes curl as she began to pump the bottom of his shaft while twisting her mouth over the top and sucking.

Steve had never had sex. He'd had one girlfriend while in school; a fast, loose girl, who jerked him off in the wooded area behind a motel once, but that was it. It had been awkward, long, and her ring had chaffed him.

While awkward, this was nothing like that. Ada's mouth and hand glided up and down his shaft with ease while maintaining a steady friction that caused tension to build in his lower half. Every trip up his shaft he took in a breath and every slide down, he let it out and gripped the chair harder while his toes curled more.

"Fuck. Fuck, shit, wait…ah, fuck," he said, feeling the tension in him suddenly snap, letting a flood of pleasure shoot through his body as a flood of semen flooded out his cock.

Ada had taken him out of her mouth when it began and idly but firmly pumped his dick as the first spurts shot into the air, followed by a gentle eruption. She kept pumping, coating his cock in sperm while his body twitched from leftover orgasm. "Was that your first time?" Ada asked.

"N-no," he said, suddenly remembering where he was. He felt soiled and the shame seemed to burn.

Ada laughed. "Maybe it wasn't, but I'll wager it was the first time someone did it right. Did you like it?"

"Yes," he said. "Who…this is…I don't know."

Ada found a box of tissues and set them on Steve's thigh after wiping her own hands. "I like to take little breaks while on missions," Ada said. "It keeps me focused. Like I said, stick close, do what you're told, and this can happen again and again. You'll stand a better chance of living, too. It's a win-win."

Cleaning his dick with a tissue, still not sure if he was dreaming in a stinking prison cell again, Steve had to agree.

Chapter Six.

Claire waited, tapping her foot and watching the row of dusty windows that lined the hallway. The zombies on the other side of them hadn't noticed anything and she hoped it would stay that way.

It didn't.

When Ada came around the corner with Steve not far behind, their movement caught the attention of a zombie closer to the window than the others. It wailed and broke a window, causing the others to turn their attention to the hall.

They had little trouble smashing the rest of the windows and tumbling in over the low sills. Ada's face seemed to contort more than usual into hard concentration while the bewildered look Steve had been carrying turned to horror.

Ada jumped and kicked the one closest to her in the chest, sending it into two others. They fell and tripped up third.

Two turned their attention to Claire and came shuffling down the hall. She aimed her handgun at their heads and waited for Ada and Steve to clear the hall. She fired, dropping the two zombies coming at her and calling the attention of the others.

Her lips hardened in frustration as she took careful aim at the heads of the advancing mob and fired twelve times causing twelve bodies to hit the floor with wet thumps. Taking the opportunity to reload her gun, she peered into the yard the zombies had come from and saw nothing.

"Good work," Ada said, coming down the hall with Steve, who was holding his nose. Claire had to admit, the smell of the zombie heap must be poignant to anyone not accustomed to it. "I think you should hang onto the machine pistols while Steve uses your gun."

Confused, Claire handed Steve her pistol. "Here," she said. "Glad you're safe."

"Yeah," Steve said. "Thanks. Er, sorry for running off like that. It's hard to tell who you can trust, you know?"

Claire nodded, looking at Ada. "What's that?"

Ada was carrying a roll of paper and a CD. "This is a map of the island that Steve printed out. It's more up to date than the one I studied. The CD has some interesting information, but I'm afraid Umbrella will know we have it." She cast a glance at Steve. "Steve now agrees with me that he's much more useful by our side than off on his own."

"I'll bet he has," Claire said, making Steve blush. "So what now?"

"We head for the military base," Ada said. "We should be able to scrounge some better weapons there as well as loot its database. After that, we might as well pay the Ashford family a visit."

"The Ashford family?" Claire said, wondering what Ada wanted with some of Umbrella's founders.

"They have a home on the island, accessible through another building. I don't know if they live there or not, but even if they don't I'm sure there's something of interest inside. Once we're done with it, we can make our way to an airport."

"So, you two are against Umbrella or something?" Steve said, looking at Ada as though she were a cat that might bite him for talking.

She smiled at him. "We're paid to do a job."

"Oh," he said.

"Let's go, then," Claire said. "Unlike you, I didn't exactly plan on coming here and I don't want to stay longer than I have to."

They backtracked through the prison, out into the muddy yard where Steve had opened fire on them earlier. Using a metal bar and their combined strength, they pried a gate apart enough to slip through just as the sky began to drizzle.

In front of them was a bridge spanning a gap where the sea sloshed bellow. A vehicle that still burned from having exploded in the bombing run illuminated the damaged path in front of them.

"If it hasn't collapsed by now, it's not going to from our weight," Ada said, striding past Claire and Steve. She found a pedestrian walk to the right and used it to bypass the burning truck. She shot three charred zombies in uniforms that came after them and stopped to look up at a wall of rock. A scaffold had been erected to allow foot traffic up the cliff while the road had swung around to the right where it had been blown up.

Ada led the way up the scaffold, bidding Steve to follow. Claire brought up the rear, noticing how Steve focused on Ada's backside the way Ada had intended.

The parallels were hard to miss, she thought, wondering if Ada would keep Steve around or try to ditch him at some point. Claire had decided they would all leave the island together at least.

Would Ada try to recruit him? It was an absurd thought in some respects but then again, much of what Ada did was outside the bounds of sense. Maybe if Steve had somehow impressed her, but Claire could see the contempt Ada held for the boy, despite having seduced him.

They reached the top of the cliff and saw that the military base had born the brunt of the bombing. Much of it had collapsed or was on fire. Zombies staggered near flaming vehicles parked near the compound wall. "This way," Ada said, moving to the right.

Ada and Steve shot the zombies between them and a steel gate. "The head, dummy," Ada said. "Take your time and aim for the head."

Steve's wild shots found their marks often enough for Ada to only scowl - without Steve noticing - and to kill the remaining zombies. The gate no longer worked, but a small door to the left of it let them access the outer perimeter of the base.

The ground interior yard was loose sand. To their left was what appeared to be the main entrance to the compound, while to the right was a smaller, brick shed. Farther down and straight ahead was an old tank.

"Claire, cover us while we clear that shed. I don't want anything at our backs," Ada said.

She was able to take two steps when the door to the compound burst open and a dozen men rushed out, carrying automatic rifles. They were burnt and bloody, but they moved like living humans.

"There!" one shouted, all their panic-stricken faces turned towards Claire and her companions. They seemed confused at first, but they quickly raise their weapons. "F-freeze!" their leader shouted.

Claire's hands went up, as did Steve and Ada's. The men had gathered into a loose formation with their rifles pointed and shaking. "Identify yourselves!" the leader said.

"We're from the company," Ada said.

Before Ada had time to offer more lies, Claire felt the ground shake. She wondered if a building was collapsing but then there was an explosion of sand and bodies from where the guards had stood. Brushing dirt from face, she saw a dark cylindrical form where the men had been.

The gray segmented body slid back down into the sand, which filled in behind it leaving only the slightest trace of where it had been. Two guards had been thrown further up near the tank, while a third lay at an awkward angle near the door to the compound. Claire, Ada, and Steve didn't move, unsure about walking further out over the sand.

The ground rumbled again and the creature appeared in front of the fleeing men, this time hefting its bulk horizontally onto the ground. It opened its mouth, which seemed little more than a toothy hole at the end of its body, and surged forward, scooping up the two screaming men.

"Run!" Ada shouted, bolting for the compound. Claire and Steve followed, dashing in behind Ada as the giant worm sunk bellow the surface to digest its meal.

Chapter Seven.

Alfred Ashford watched the newcomers on a security monitor. He knew the two women were industrial spies, but he wasn't sure who the boy was. He had seen the woman rut with the boy through a camera set up in the prison. It was clear that they hadn't arrived together and that she had seduced him, but the question was why?

Alexia would be able to figure it out, he thought.

"I don't have to figure them out," he said, as rain pattered the tall window behind him. "All I have to do is kill them and the problem will be solved."

His mind preferred straight lines that cut to the heart of the matter. His sister had praised him for it at times, but more often had called him narrow-minded or unimaginative.

The phone near his right hand beeped and he hit the speaker button. Alexia's voice, its beauty marred only slightly by the electronic means of transference, filled his ears. "Alfred," she said. "Who are those people?"

He told her as much as he knew and waited for her to share some insight. "Deal with them," she said. "I'm occupied."

"Yes, Alexia," he said. "Have you any suggestions?"

Her sigh was like a cold breeze. "You have remote control over most of the island's facilities. Why don't you open some doors and lead something nasty in their direction? It shouldn't be too difficult despite the island being in ruin."

Of course, he thought, glad she couldn't see the mortified look on his face. He steeled himself to speak. "Wonderful idea, sister," he said. "I'm sure they'll be dead within the hour."

"It's a shame you're not clever enough to capture them alive. I could have some fun with them."

His breath caught in his throat. Killing the intruders would be the fastest solution to his current problems, but now his sister had clearly presented him with a challenge, one he wished to meet. Lately, Alexia had been forced to content herself with the odd island prisoner, and he had to be content with what was left. Bringing her three, healthy, expendable subjects would make her happy and she might let him have one for himself.

She would likely want the Asian. She was exotic and was clearly the alpha of the pack. Breaking her would be Alexia's pleasure. She might also take the boy, wanting a male to complete the set. That would leave him with the one he thought was called Claire.

His hand slipped beneath his pants and he began to play with himself, aware that Alexia was still on the line. He had to take care in order to maintain his breathing or she would know.

"Capturing them alive won't be easy," he said. "I wonder why I should bother?"

Silence. Depending on her mood, she might hang up or insult him. "If you bring them in good condition, I may let you have one," she said, a purr having crept into her voice. She was in a rare mood, the kind he lived for. "If you bring them quickly, I may let you watch me with them."

His hand became more active, as did his hardening cock. "And if you enjoy them?" he asked.

She moaned, a rare sound, like a tropical bird. "Then," she said, her breath becoming short. "I might play a game with you."

He was forced to unbutton his pants. Stroking his erect shaft, he put all of his concentration into not betraying what he was doing to Alexia. Part of him thought she always knew, another part wished she was doing the same. "What game?" he said, not daring more than a few words.

"The one with that little silver rod," she said. "The one I slide into you after I've lubricated it in their blood."

He bit into his tongue, the sudden surge in his loins catching him by surprise. He had a split second to decide whether to enjoy it or to hide it. He opted to enjoy it and worked his hand, squeezing out every remaining second of the orgasm.

"Pig," Alexia said, making his face feel like it was on fire. She sighed. "Clean yourself up and bring them to me or kill them. Make it quick."

The line went dead and Alfred cursed. He always felt like a peasant pig before his sister. Nothing he ever did was good enough. The only reason she graced him with any pleasure at all was boredom and his general usefulness.

He would just have to please her. Using a handkerchief he kept near the desk for just such occasions, he cleaned himself and began to check the monitors. The trio were staying close together. They were near the lockers where they would find more ammunition and possible some better firearms than what they were carrying.

Flicking some switched, he saw from the monitors that should he open two doors and activate a sprinkler system, they might also soon encounter a few wandering bandersnatches.

The beauty of the ugly creatures was that one didn't realize just how dangerous they were until it was too late. Most who came up against them figured out that their prominent arm was their primary mode of attack but what they almost always failed to realize was that the appendages could be shot like a whip down the length of a hallway to break bones.

The trio might be able to handle the bandersnatches, but it would cost them ammunition and place additional stress on their bodies and minds, softening them up. He took out a notepad and pen and began jotting down things he noticed while flipping through monitor views. With some luck, he thought he just might be playing with his sister and her new toys before morning.

Chapter Eight.

Ada examined the grenade launcher she'd found. It looked custom, and its owner had taken good care of it. The word "HUNK" had been engraved on the stock of the weapon, and she wondered what it meant.

Claire had found a hand crossbow and some bolts. It fired three at a time and despite stern looks from Ada, she gave it to Steve.

From the corner of her eye, Ada watched Claire riffle through the lockers for more weapons and ammunition. She was distracted when Claire bent over, but her attention soon went to Steve.

He was standing on a bench and shuffling through boxes on top of the lockers. She wondered what Claire saw in him, then chided herself for being paranoid. Claire was still soft, she probably just felt sorry for the boy.

At least he's cute, Ada thought, finding a box filled with twelve grenade rounds. Loading them into the grenade launcher's magazine, she thought of ways to have fun with Claire and Steve; getting him off earlier had left her horny.

She went back to searching and smiled when she found a box of condoms. They were likely used to keep the dirt out of gun barrels, but Ada wondered if Umbrella personell didn't get a little lonely.

"Claire, watch the door," Ada said. "Steve, lie down on that bench."

Claire rolled her eyes, but did as she was told. Ada expected some argument, and was surprised. She should be jealous, Ada thought.

"On the bench?" Steve said, pointing at it.

"Yes, Steve, the bench, " Ada said, annoyed.

He glanced at Claire before laying down, further angering her.

"Okay, now what?"

"Just be quiet," she said, undoing his pants and pulling them down to his thighs. She straddled him, leaning the grenade launcher against the bench near his head, and pressed herself against his flaccid penis. "I'm horny, and it's annoying me," she said. "And you owe me from earlier." She looked at Claire as she said the words, and gritted her teeth when there was no reaction.

She slid her panties aside, exposing her pussy which she pressed against Steve's stiffening member. His eyes had gone wide and he looked like he might pass out. So long as he stayed hard, she didn't care.

Claire was diligently watching the door and casting glances over to Ada and Steve. Ada smiled, now liking the look her eye. It was jealousy. Claire was probably trying to tell herself it was disgust she felt, but Ada knew better and it made her loins burn. She slid her dress down over her breasts and gave her left nipple a squeeze. She plucked a condom from the box and ripped the package open with her teeth. She rolled it over Steve's dick and guided it into her pussy.

She felt her flesh stretch, and she let out an exaggerated moan. It was louder than she had intended, but convincing. She rocked back and forth over Steve's dick, rubbing his shaft over her clitoris and feeling the length of him inside her. She stole glances at Claire, who was watching, and savored the look of desire hidden in her features.

Grabbing Steve's hand, she placed it on her breast. He took the hint and grabbed her with his other hand, and she leaned into him, feeling his awkward squeezing as she ground herself into him. Even with the condom on, she could tell by his breathing that he had about another minute left before he climaxed.

"I think something's in the hall," Claire said.

Ada had heard it too.

"Huh?" Steve said, craning his neck to look.

"Pay attention," Ada said, slapping him gently. "Claire," she said, gesturing for the other woman to pay attention to the door. The grenade launcher was within reach, and she focused on what she was doing.

Claire had retreated from the door. Whatever was out in the hall didn't sound like a zombie to Ada, so she ground her hips harder in an effort to make herself come.

"Ugh," Steve said, and his hips began to buck beneath her.

"Almost there," she said. "Almost…" the door burst open, and something with yellow skin and a deformed body came shambling in.

The monster was lopsided, with one massive deformed arm coiled back as if to strike. Its eyes were wide and bloodshot, and seemed to radiate dementia and malice.

Ada grabbed the grenade launcher and fired. The round slammed into the creature's face, removing it. It fell backward, at the feet of a second just like it. The second monster pulled its arm back and in sent it sailing forward like a whip. Ada's trigger finger was fast, and the round the arm in the middle of the room, shredding the appendage and making the creature shriek in rage. A second round to its stomach blew it in half.

Steve was squirming in fear but his cock was still hard. The movement sent shivers up Ada's body and she cried out as another of the long-armed monsters blundered over its dead fellows. She fired the launcher again, killing the creature as an orgasm erupted from between her legs, making her grip the weapon tighter as a fourth monster came into view.

"Oh, God, yes," Ada shouted, shooting the monster in the waist, blowing a leg off. The orgasm continued to surge through her and when no more monsters appeared in the door she dropped the launcher and pumped the remains of Steve's erection, squeezing every drop she could of pleasure from her body.

"J-Jesus," Steve said.

Ada moaned and slid off Steve's cock, making him twitch. She straightened her dress out and looked at Claire, who had drawn both her machine pistols. "You still owe me," Ada said.

Claire's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Let's finish here. We shouldn't waste time now that we know there are mutants, not just zombies."

Ada smiled back, as Steve looked for something to clean himself with.

Chapter Nine.

Alexia wondered if there would ever come a day when she could entrust complex tasks to her brother, and not have to meddle herself at least a little.

The fool had forced the bandersnatches into a choke point, virtually assuring their destruction via the scavenged artillery. The woman ha killed them easily, and while rutting with the boy no less.

"Alfred, what am I going to do with you?" she said, combing her hair.

"I'm sorry, Alexia, the stupid beasts, they…"

"You knew their capabilities," she replied, letting anger tinge her voice. "The Rockfort facility is lost. Even so, the interlopers cannot be allowed to go on. I shall stop them."

She saw his ears turn red and fancied she could feel her own burn with humiliation. "You can't go out there," he said. "It's too dangerous."

Sliding a fresh clip into Alfred's rifle, she checked the battery on the laser sight and made sure the scope was free of dust. "I want you to think about how I intend to punish you upon my return," she said. "I won't be long, so think hard."

Practically feeling his arousal in her own loins, she left her bedroom where she spent her time. Getting out would be a welcome change; the years passed on the island had become dull. The recent tumult with Umbrella, Inc. had been a fresh, if unpleasant, diversion, but there was only so much a person, even one as extraordinary as herself, could do from seclusion.

Outside the Ashford estate was a crumbling stone terrace with a flight of stairs leading down into what had once been a lavishly kept garden with marble sculptures and rare plants. As she descended the stairs, the claw of a bandersnatch slapped over the lip of the terrace and Alexia shot it.

Unable to grip the edge with shattered fingers, the hand slipped and disappeared. She moved to the edge and looked down to see the creature's shattered body on the rocks bellow. It had survived the fall, and she considered finishing it off but decided to leave it. Let it ponder its fate with what was left of its mind; it would serve the beast right for attacking her.

When she was safely inside the control room, she quickly found the intruding trio on the security monitors. They were still raiding the military facility and to her delight, were walking towards the exact room she wanted.

Some young men would think they'd died and gone to heaven, but not Steve Burnside. The sex was nice, yes, but there was the monsters, the bombing, the fires, his father, everything hell could ever offer and more to consider. Had a mysterious Asian woman come out of nowhere, blown him and fucked him under any other circumstances he might have been stoked but here it was just bizarre.

They had found more ammunition for their weapons and had backtracked to the main lobby and up a flight of stairs. They stood outside a small room with a thick window that looked into a room dark as ink. Claire was doing something to the electronic lock. Steve wasn't sure which he liked less, the feeling that something was watching him from inside the pitch black room, or the sideways glares he was getting from Ada.

Nothing Ada had done made sense to him, but he guessed that he was caught in the middle of some lover's quarrel and was being used as a weapon. Both women perplexed him, even Claire, the seemingly saner of the two.

"Until we find the light, I want us tight together," Ada said, beckoning Steve closer. He obeyed. In the darkness, he could see Claire's pony-tail silhouetted against the exit light at the far end.

The door shut behind them on its own and there was a sucking sound, as though the room were being vacuum sealed.

"Find the switch!" she shouted, now over by the exit. "Damn it, it's a trap."

"I'll try to get the door open," Claire shouted. Steve heard her run to the other end of the room and begin tinkering with the mechanical lock.

A smell like strawberries crept up into his nose and he realized that the hissing sound was gas being pumped into the room. Considering the creatures Umbrella kept on hand that might need to be gassed from time to time, he didn't feel good about what was about to happen.

The darkness in front of his face became pockmarked with white dots, like stars on a moonless night. The dots flickered and increased until they were like the snow on a television with bad reception.

He was asleep before he hit the floor.

Chapter Ten.

This is a fine mess, Ada thought.

She was naked in a circular stone room. She could hear water dripping as she sat on the damp floor with her hands tied behind her back. Alone, she didn't know what had been done with Claire or the boy. Once the effects of the gas wore off and she felt like she could stand, she pulled her legs tight to her body and maneuvered her hands in front of her.

Using her teeth, she had the ropes off in thirty seconds.

The door presented more of a challenge. It was made of wood and she wondered how old this part of the complex was. After peering through the small barred window in the door, she didn't think anyone was guarding the hall. She ran her hands over the cell's walls and found what she was looking for, a brick where water and time had turned the mortar to dust.

Brick in hand, she bashed the door handle until it opened. Whoever had locked her up had done a poor job, she thought. She hoped they had been as sloppy with Claire as she searched for her clothes or a weapon.

Steve stood still in the middle of a cage surrounded by the moaning corpses of prisoners, guards, and others that had worked on the island. Their hands reached inside the cage for him, stopping inches away. He was shirtless, but otherwise clothed, unlike Claire who hung naked from the ceiling, suspended by ropes around her ankles.

They were in a spacious garage. The main door had been opened to let dozens of zombies in. Above them on a catwalk was a woman in a violet evening gown holding a rifle and a box with cables running from it.

Claire was struggling, but her hands were also tied.

"This is a game my brother and I used to play," the woman said. "We kept a nest of ants and nothing was more exquisite than pulling the wings and legs off an insect and watching the ants tear it apart to carry the pieces down to their queen."

And I thought those chics were nuts, Steve thought.

He considered putting his throat to the cage and letting a zombie chew it out before having to watch Claire die. He liked her, and her end would be nothing short of horrific, as a wide leather collar had been put around her throat, wrists, and upper thighs. The makeshift armor would keep a major artery from being bitten immediately, allowing her to experience as much of being eaten alive as possible.

Just as he started to wonder where Ada had been taken, a door above him burst open and the sound of automatic gunfire filled the air. The woman on the catwalk ducked at bullets pinged around her. Shrieking, she crawled for cover and hid behind a section of catwalk where the rail had a plate welded over it. The woman fired back with the rifle, but Ada kept firing, keeping the other woman from exposing herself long enough for a clean shot.

Unfortunately the woman had pushed the button on the winch that held Claire, and she was now slowly being lowered towards the grasping hands of the zombies. Some left Steve to join the impending feast while footsteps pounded above him on the catwalk.

The woman fired a few more blind shots and disappeared through a door. Steve saw Ada had arrived in her birthday suit and had reached the winch control box. She pushed a button and Claire stopped inches above the tallest of the zombies' reach.

Claire began to rise, and Steve saw that it was rigged to move from side to side as well as up and down. Ada used the box to raise Claire over to the catwalk where she stood.

His jaw dropped when he saw Ada go to her knees and give Claire a deep, long kiss. She broke it only to take Claire's breast into her mouth.

"Oh, come on," he said, meeting the gaze of a prison guard who's black cataract eyes reflected only hunger. He caught a glance from Claire, one that seemed to agree with his frustration.

He might have been able to enjoy the show if not for the zombies inches away from his face. He'd grown accustomed to the smell of rot, but having them so close pushed his boundaries.

Ada had spread Claire's legs as much as her foot bindings would allow, which with some lifting was enough for her to get her mouth and tongue where they needed to be. After some time, Claire's moans attracted the attention of some zombies who made their way towards the women.

Ada said something to Claire and then shouted. "Grab the top of the cage and hold on."

He did, and Ada wasted no time in activated the winch above Steve's cage. It rose into the air and Ada guided it over to where she stood. As he crawled out from under it, Ada cut Claire down.

"Thanks," Steve said. "Did you have to bring me up so soon? I was making friends down there."

Ada looked at him like she intended to throw him over the catwalk, but Claire's hand on her shoulder prevented it. "Let's go find our gear," Claire said.

"I know where it is," Ada said. "Follow me."

Chapter Eleven.

Alexia was furious.

She watched them find their weapons and clothes from security monitors and guessed they would likely head to the airport. She took a breath and held her chin up. There was one more thing she could do to keep them from leaving, and if it failed, there was always the remote autopilot on the airplane. It would fly them to the Antarctic facility on command where they would either freeze or be killed.

Her dress had been torn, and she tried not to trip over it as she stormed down a long metal hallway. She entered a room with a heavy door and turned on the lights, revealing her trump card standing placidly in a cylindrical tank filled with a clear green liquid. Ten feet high with bulging muscles, the latest and greatest development in the Tyrant series was nearly complete. A few more surgeries to optimize organ performance, plus castration, and it would be ready for the field. Its right hand had been fashioned into a bone knife, while the left was clubbed and ringed with sharp bone spurs.

Its current state suited her needs perfectly. "The little beasts likes to fornicate, then I'll send them a big beast that likes it more," she muttered, stopping at a console where she began hitting keys. The liquid in the tank began to drain and Tyrant began to stir sooner that she'd hoped.

It thumped the glass with its club hand, prompting her to run towards the exit. She tripped over her dress and fell, but scrambled to her feet quickly. Her hand fell on the door handle just as the glass shattered behind her, and she screamed when it didn't turn.

Ada Wong held in her hand three CDs with enough of Umbrella's research data on it to let her retire five times over, had she the mind.

The rain had stopped and she led them outside past a crumbling mansion towards the airport, where she hoped sat a working airplane. According to the information they'd pulled off the computer earlier, they would have to use a bizarre elevator modeled after a submarine to get to the airport.

Down a set of stone steps through a garden, they heard a crash from one of the side buildings. "What was that?" Steve asked.

"I don't want to know," Claire said, taking the safety off the hand crossbow. Steve held onto the two machine pistols while Ada kept her pistol and the grenade launcher.

The elevator was at a pool and was called to the surface via a ship's well set into a pedestal. Steve turned the wheel and the submarine rose, along with a bridge to the door at the top. As soon as it surfaced, a humanoid, ten feet high, leaped down next to them from the terrace above.

"Oh, crap," Claire said.

"Just run," Ada said. While she noticed the creature's lethal hands, she was more concerned about the large, bloody erection it sported.

Ada was the last into the submarine and was happy to see Steve had figured out the controls. The hatch closed and they descended. Through the dark porthole, Ada saw a dark shape drifting downward, and hoped the monster drowned.

No time was wasted getting to the airport, as Steve displayed an impressive level of technical skill that bypassed certain obstacles. The airplane was a large cargo craft, and the only thing keeping it from takeoff was a lowered bridge, which Steve was able raise from the airplane's cockpit.

Ada decided she didn't completely hate Steve when he revealed he could fly an airplane. Once they were off the ground, Ada thought about taking Claire back to the cargo hold for a victory celebration. She then noticed a blinking light on the controls, indicating a problem in the hold. "The cargo hold is stuck open. Claire, help me close it," she said.

"Steve, do you need help?" Claire asked.

Ada's lips tightened into a hard line, and she felt her face grow hot. Steve's reply of "no" sounded muffled. Someone's going to get it rough, she thought, as Claire followed her into the cargo hold.

"Shit," Ada said, seeing that her plans for Claire would be delayed. Standing at the back of the airplane was the Tyrant monster, wet from its journey under water.

"What are we going to do?" Claire said as the monster came towards them.

Ada looked around the cargo hold and noticed a large crate next to them that had been set on a rail. Behind her was a button, labeled "cargo launch."

"Push that button when I tell you to," she said.

"What are you planning?"

"You'll see," she said, and walked slowly towards the monster, dropping her weapons.

"Ada!"

"Relax," Ada said, now within reach of the creature's lethal hands. It swung its bone club at her head but she ducked and grabbed its erect cock. The effect was immediate; the monster didn't attack and its body stiffened.

Ada spit on its cock and began to work her hands up and down the shaft. She felt it grow harder, and the creature shuddered at her touch. "You like that, big boy?" she cooed, pushing against the monster as she jerked it off, smiling as it took steps backward.

She turned and winked at Claire before spitting on the member again. She worked her hands over it with forceful, downward strokes, going so far as to put the large tip into her mouth where her tongue flicked the tip. Ada held the base steady while her other hand worked the top half of the cock harder. The more forceful her strokes the more the monster enjoyed itself and took more steps towards the open end of the hold.

White fluid appeared at the tip of the cock and she aimed it upward and away, avoiding catching a gob in the face. The monster grunted and more fluid shot out the end of the cock as Ada pumped it, working it like a fire hose. "Yeah, that's good," she said, as the monster sunk to one knee. Ada kneeled with it, jerking vigorously to get as much cum out as she could and keep the creature off its guard. "Now! Push it!" she called back to Claire.

She heard the cargo behind her begin to slide, and at the last second rolled off to the side. The box hit the monster and sent it out the back, into the darkness.

Bleeding, his innards on fire, Alfred crawled towards the control panel and climbed into a chair. There were powerful painkillers in the medical supply office, but those would have to wait. People needed to die.

He pushed the necessary buttons and laughed as the machine before him indicated the three interlopers would be heading towards the Antarctic facility, where they would die.

After they closed the hatch, Claire knelt in front of Ada, who had sat down on a bench bolted into the side of the hold. The taste of her lover was good after the end of an ordeal, but she would have preferred a soft bed with some privacy. She could tell Ada was annoyed. Ada held Claire's head down and made little effort to not tug her hair. She was also in no hurry to climax, and let Claire up.

"Do you like him?" Ada asked, pulling Claire's head up. Claire licked her lips and took the opportunity to breath.

"Who?"

Her head was shoved back down and she went back to licking the soft, wet flesh nestled underneath the stubble of Ada's pubic hair. "The boy, Steve," Ada said. "I think you do, and to be honest it's making me a little jealous."

She didn't let Claire come up to say anything, but held her head down tight.

"When I first met you, I thought I'd have my fun until you got yourself killed. But you lived, and also turned out to be talented." She moaned and pressed Claire's face down harder. "Do you like me, Claire, or are you just playing along so you can use me to get to your brother?"

Ada's grip relaxed and Claire picked her heard up. "At first…yes, I was playing along, but lately…I was glad when you showed up to rescue me. I mean, of course I was glad to be rescued, but it was nice it was you…" Her head was pushed back down, and she licked harder, the way she knew Ada liked it.

"Maybe," Ada said. "But that boy, you think he's cute, don't you?"

She pulled Claire's head up again. "Yes, he's cute, but he's a boy I just met. I'm worried about him just like I'd be worried about anybody caught up in all of this. No offense, but I'm not like that."

"With me you are," Ada said, again sending Claire back down. "Or at least partly. When there's time, I'm going to make sure you…ah, ah, there. Right there, just keep…"

Claire felt Ada gush. She licked as Ada bucked her hips and road the orgasm out to its end. No sooner had she pulled back did Steve open the door.

"Shouldn't you be flying the plane," Ada said.

"The autopilot kicked in and I can't override it!" he shouted. "We're heading south."

"South?" Claire said. "But what's south of…"

"Antarctica," Ada said. "If we're lucky, it's taking us to a base Umbrella has down there."

"And if we're not lucky?" Steve asked.

"Then we crash and freeze," Ada said, patting Claire's head.

Chapter Twelve.

The plane crashed, but they didn't freeze to death. The autopilot brought it down on a slick runway in bad weather, and it slid into a large dome-shaped building.

They decided to strap themselves down in the cargo hold before the crash. They found the crumpled cockpit filled with broken concrete and glass, as it punched through the dome nose first. It was chilly inside the building, but not as cold as the thought it would be. Another surprise was the absence of security guards. .

It wasn't long before they realized an outbreak had occurred. Claire killed three security guards with her crossbow, and tried to determine how long they'd been dead.

Inside a cramped, disheveled office Ada lit a gas lamp at the desk and began to read through some of the documents she found. "There's nothing about what happened here, but it's clear this is a production and storage facility. Nothing would last long outside if it escaped."

"Makes you wonder why they built the Raccoon City lab," Claire said.

"It does," Ada said. "Clearly safety isn't one of Umbrella's usual concerns." She paused. "If these documents are telling me the truth, there's a Russian outpost not far away over a ridge to the east. If we can find one of those Snow Cats, we could take it there and steal an airplane."

"Steal? Can't we just call for help?" Steve asked.

"We're international criminals, so no, we can't call for help," Ada said, glaring at Steve.

Claire smiled at him, but nodded along with Ada. "Yeah, things would be a little weird," she said. "Maybe there's an airplane here somewhere. I can't believe there isn't."

"Let's get moving," Ada said. "Staying in one place will get us killed."

She had called to him in his sleep and given him the strength needed to go to her, so many miles away and after so many years. The flight took no time at all, it seemed, and the hallways of the Antarctic facility seemed so familiar, even though he'd only visited a few times.

After an eternity of being apart, he stood before his sister as she floated gently in her glass cylinder. Protected from the elements, her body had grown into womanhood free of blemishes, leaving only pale perfection, tinted slightly by the green lights that surrounded her.

The release sequence had been initiated, and her eyes were open. He smiled up at her, basking in the cool field of her majesty. The fluid drained from the container, and the glass slid down. He was ready to catch her, but she stepped off the platform with no effort, her lithe muscles flexing after being in stasis so long. He had feared her body would have atrophied, but now thought himself foolish.

"Alexia, my love," he said, his voice weak. "It worked, didn't it? You're complete."

"Yes, Alfred," she said, as he fell to his knees before her.

She knelt, naked and glistening and touched his face. Even this close to death, he felt a string in his loins as he noticed the rounded shape of her breasts as they hung from her chest, guiding his eye down the slope of her ribs to the gentle curve of her hip.

"Alexia, I missed you so much. We'll be together now, won't we?"

"Always," Alexia said. "You were such a good brother."

He closed his eyes, and after he died, she began to eat him.

The design of the facility became more eccentric and strange the deeper in they went. Eventually, they found themselves in an area that resembled the mansion on Rockfort Island.

Ada opened a door that let to a stone courtyard flanked by a shallow pool. It's beauty was marred by the presence of several zombies. Ada backed up and used the door as a choke point, felling most of them herself.

Stepping over the bodies, they made their way down a stone walk to a set of large double doors leading into the main room of a grand mansion home. A large staircase in the middle led up to a balcony which circled the room with doors leading off to other parts of the building.

One of these doors opened, making Steve think a zombie had come in. After a hard look, he saw that he was wrong.

The most gorgeous woman he had ever seen came to the top of the stairs and looked down at them. Naked, she had long straight blond hair that looked like it had never been cut. She moved with confidence and no sense of self-consciousness, as she regarded them with a look that made Steve feel like an insect.

"Alexia?" Ada said, and suddenly Steve recognized the blond woman. She was the the one who'd nearly killed them back on the island, only something didn't seem right.

"Alexia Ashford, yes" the naked woman said. "I fear you believe we've met already, but I'm sorry to tell you that we haven't."

Steve didn't know what she meant. She came down the stairs, placing one foot delicately in front of the other while holding her hands level with her hips as though she were coming to join a ball.

"What do you mean?" Ada asked. "You tried to kill us on Rockfort Island."

"I will explain. I couldn't bear for you three to meet your ends without knowing fully what you've gotten yourselves into."

She explained the situation to them in the same tone of voice a friend might use to catch up old acquaintances. Steve's mouth went dry as her story carried on and he realized she wasn't afraid of them and their weapons in the slightest.

Using her light feminine tone, which Steve thought was a singer's voice, Alexia explained that she'd bonded herself with a version the virus the T and G Viruses were derivatives of, and that doing so had required her to be in stasis for fifteen years.

Her twin, Alfred, hadn't taken the separation well and went insane, dressing like her and believing she was still with him.

"And just what do you plan on doing with yourself now?" Claire asked.

"My powers are beyond anything created so far by the Umbrella corporation's dullard scientists," Alexia said. "Soon the world will bow before me in perfect unity."

"Not likely," Ada said, pointing her grenade launcher at Alexia and pulling the trigger.

Alexia waived her hand. The grenade exploded somewhere above them, and before he knew what was happening, Alexia stood before them and plucked the launcher from Ada's hands.

She tapped Ada in the stomach with the back of her hand, causing Ada to double over in pain. A sharp shove downward put Ada on the floor, hard, then Alexia moved towards Claire who had fired a bolt from her bow.

Alexia caught the bolt and snapped it in half. Before Claire could fire again, Alexia had lifted her off the ground with one hand and dropped her hard on top of Ada.

Steve ran, the sound of Alexia's laughter ringing in his ears.

Chapter Thirteen.

Claire found herself shining a flashlight into a room lined with cages. For the past hour, she had been gathering items Alexia had requested be brought up to her quarters. It had been made clear that she shouldn't try to escape or find a weapon aside from the pistol she carried.

She still ached from the beating, and didn't like the nature of the items she was sent to find. Currently she was looking for a pair of dog collars.

Beats being dead, Claire thought. Alexia said she wouldn't kill them as long as they were amusing or useful. Her takeover of the planet wasn't going to happen in one day, and there was work to be done. Still, after fifteen years of suspended animation, some of it spent semi-conscious, Alexia was bored.

Something growled and Claire shined a light on it. It was a sled dog, and she was dismayed to see its fur had fallen off with most of its skin. Her bullet found its head and after nothing came to see what the noise was all about, she completed her search and found a number of dog collars in a box.

Sociopath or not, Ada had to admit that Alexia Ashford was good in bed. Amidst twisted sheets and scattered pillows, Alexia rolled around freely with Ada, nuzzling her and planting kisses as well as taking the opportunity to suck at each of her breasts while gripping her ass and thighs with a clear, naked need.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Ada said, as Alexia straddled her, rubbing her face into Ada's naval before traveling upward to kiss her neck.

"Don't speak," Alexia said and locked lips with Ada. Her mouth tasted like blood, but she let Alexia's tongue explore every corner of her mouth before pushing back with her own. Alexia seemed to enjoy this and tongue wrestled Ada, her titanic strength evident even in such a small portion of her.

"Practiced, I see," Alexia said. "Lick me until the other one comes back."

She rolled off Ada and spread her legs. Obediently, Ada moved into position but was stopped. "No, fool, lie the other way. I want to taste you," Alexia said.

Ada positioned herself over Alexia's pussy and bent her head to lick. She felt strong, soft hands grip her ass and pull her downward as a wet tongue entered her vagina and began to squirm.

She didn't think she'd ever had her pussy eaten with such enthusiasm. Claire was good, but she did it with the intent of pleasing Ada and took a deliberate kind of care. Alexia on the other hand was licking and sucking her womanhood to fill a desire for herself and it made Ada's head swim.

Concentrating, she went down on Alexia and tried to match her. Alexia was soaking wet and responded easily to Ada's tongue, but the stimulation she was receiving made concentration difficult. It became impossible when she felt a powerful orgasm hit and she couldn't resists rocking her hips.

"So easy," Alexia said. "No one has ever done this to you before? Or at least not done it properly." She laughed. "You had best hope you and your friend can do better. Your lives depend on it."

"What about the boy?" Ada said. "Or are you not in to men?"

Alexia laughed again, and gave Ada's buttocks a hard squeeze. "I have plans for him, don't worry. And don't question me again about things that don't concern you. Now, return to your duty."

She commenced licking Alexia but shuddered when she started back on her with the same enthusiasm as before. Prepared, Ada was able to control herself for longer and work her own skills to better effect. Moments before she was about to lose out to another wave of pleasure, she felt Alexia's legs flex as she gripped her ass. Alexia moaned, managing to sound as refined in her ecstasy as she did in her speech.

"Not bad," she said. "Turn around and keep at it. Perhaps you're better without distractions."

Ada repositioned herself between Alexia's legs and once again worked her now tired tongue over her captor's womanhood. She felt the burn in her own loins and resisted the urge to touch herself.

As her tongue drew patterns over Alexia's wet flesh, Ada wondered just how she was going to escape from the situation. At some point Alexia would leave her alone. When that happened, she could go over her options. She had to hope Claire was smart enough to keep a mental note of escape opportunities while she played fetch.

And wasn't this what she had been craving? Ada had to admit that it was. A great deal of danger mixed with no small amount of sex. Usually the two were somewhat separate, but now they were fully integrated. She doubted Claire would feel the same way.

"Much better," Alexia said. "Perhaps if you were less distracted by errant fancies you might approach what I desire in a slave."

Can she read my mind? Ada thought. "Sorry, it's just that…you left me in a bad way."

Alexia let out another high, tittering laugh. "Oh, is that all? Lie on your back, then."

Ada did as she was told and watched as Alexia fingered herself for a few moments before putting her now slick digits into Ada's pussy. For someone who had been in stasis for over a decade, Alexia seemed to know what she was doing and rubbed Ada just the right way with the perfect amount of pressure. Soon, Ada was gripping the sheets with white-knuckled hands and resisting the urge to scream.

"You're not used to being topped, are you?" Alexia said. "I wonder how you'll like watching as I have your friend."

Ada felt a pang of jealousy, and felt foolish for it.

"I'll show her the meaning of pleasure," Alexia said. "And fear, if necessary, and I hope it will be."

Looking at the ceiling, Ada held her tongue and felt Alexia's fingers slip out of her. She hoped this was merely an attempt to break her and not abject cruelty, but she suspected the latter.

Chapter Fourteen.

Steve Burnside's legs wouldn't let him go any farther, and he collapsed in a dark corner behind a stack of metal crates.

It wasn't Alexia Ashford he was running from. He'd escaped her several hours ago, and wasn't sure she'd even given chase. He'd spent some time looking for a way out of the facility and wondering of Claire and Ada were still alive.

He'd encountered zombies and even giant moths, who's maggots seemed to want to burrow into his skull, but his bullets had taken care of them all. Where he'd run into trouble was the reptilian monster he'd encountered in one of the warehouses.

The pebble skinned monster was humanoid, but largely neckless with a wide face and a mouth of pointed teeth. It's screech was like nails on a chalkboard, and it had only hissed in anger when Steve shot it in the chest. It had friends, too, and they gave chase to him as he ran randomly through the facility, hoping to lose them.

The only thing that saved him was that the creatures had trouble opening doors. Still, he never got quite far enough away before they broke one down and continued after him.

The door to the room he was now hiding in slammed open and he heard the soft plodding of heavy feet. Light from the hall entered the room briefly, and could tell from the nose cone of a jet that he was in an airplane hangar. Hey, a way out, he thought. Just as I get hunted down and killed.

The three lizard monsters had spread out and were sniffing the air rapidly. He was about to try for the door when a dark shape loomed in front of him, sniffing. Steve could smell the creature's dank musk and wondered if he should shoot himself and end it quickly, or take a chance and empty the clip at point blank range.

Aiming for where he thought the beast's head was, he heard what sounded like a cannon go off and blinked at the room lit up. There was a second booming sound, following by a high bitched buzzing noise. The monster's screeched and ran out of the room.

Steve kept silent, not sure what was happening. When the buzzing sound stopped, he heard footsteps and then the flipping of a switch. Half the lights in the hanger came on, revealing a number of small airplanes in addition to the jet, which Steve thought was a Harrier.

A man came into view, dressed in a black flight suit and carrying a large handgun. His face was mostly hidden behind a large pair of sunglasses and the rest of his face betrayed no expression.

"They're called Hunters," the man said to Steve, his voice was flat and robotic and laced with disdain at the same time. "One of the few experiments to produce marketable results, although if you happen to know their secret," he patted a small box with a dial attached to his belt. "they're easily defeated."

"Who are you?" asked Steve. Nothing about the man indicated good things. Even his hair, blond and combed backward, screamed bad news to Steve.

"Call me, Wesker," he said. "Who are you and how did you get here?"

"My name is Steve." He didn't think it wise to give his last name. "Do you work for Umbrella?"

Wesker holstered his gun and shrugged. It seemed robotic and forced. "You might say that. I'm here looking for someone. You may have seen her."

"Tall, blond, naked? Yeah, I've seen her."

"And you're alive? Again, tell me how you came to this place."

"I worked on the island," he said. "When it was bombed, everything went to hell and I escaped on an airplane, only the autopilot kicked in and it flew me here."

"Take me to where you saw the woman and I'll see to it that you leave her alive."

Yeah, right, Steve thought. "Sure thing, but you should know, she's..."

"Powerful," Wesker finished. "Yes, I know. I'm powerful, too, and I think the Lady Ashford would be wise to consider what I wish to tell her."

He'd been in a constant state of confusion since coming to Rockfort Island, but he now gathered that not everyone on Team Umbrella was reading from the same page. He wondered if he might work that to his advantage, but mostly thought he'd been put between two rapid dogs rather than just one.

Wesker offered him a hand, and he took it. On his way to his feet, he caught a glimpse of the man's eyes behind his sunglasses and saw they were red.

Chapter Fifteen.

Claire found herself naked, at the foot of Alexia's bed, chained to it a dog collar around her neck. The same had been done to Ada. The chains were for show, as their hands and feet were free, but with no escape plan and Alexia came and went in odd intervals.

The four poster bed was a mess. The sheets were crumpled into a pile near the end and the pillows were in disarray. The room seemed small from the amount of items it contained, everything from portraits, dolls, and decorative plates to mirrors and ornate desks.

"Looks like you two had fun," Claire said, looking at the bed.

Ada shrugged. "We've got to keep her happy until we can find a way out of here. She knows what she likes, and I think you're going to have to step it up a little."

Claire rolled her eyes and sighed. Typical, she thought. "You can keep her happy, if that's what you like. Me, I'm going to find a way out."

"If you say so," Ada said. "You might not live to do that if she gets bored with you. Did you find anything useful while you were out?"

Claire thought of dog sleds, but all the animals had been dead or reanimated. Her travels had not taken her to any kind of parking garage for snowmobiles or snowcats, although she had seen signs painted on the concrete walls pointing to a motor pool. "I know where they might keep snowcats, but I don't know what condition they're in or if they're even there."

"I wouldn't risk it until we know for sure," Ada said. "I think she can read minds to a limited degree, so don't think about escape when she's around Think about...other things."

"You're not actually enjoying this, are you?" Claire asked, knowing she was.

"Maybe," Ada said. "Danger and sex are my two favorite things."

"My hobbies include living," Claire said. "Danger tends to hamper that."

"You've picked an interesting lifestyle, then," Ada said.

"It's the only way I'm going to find my brother," Claire said. "I don't have a choice."

She could tell her words had stung Ada, and she wished she'd considered them more carefully. "I didn't mean it like that," Claire said.

"It makes no difference to me how you meant it," Ada said, coldly. "Don't mistake me for someone sentimental."

"I don't know how anyone could," Claire said.

The door opened, surprising them both, and Alexia strode soundlessly into the room. She was still naked from head to toe and sat down in front of a vanity to brush her hair. Ada and Claire waited for her to say something, but she ignored them.

Alexia brushed and brushed, and Claire began to feel brave. "What are you planning, exactly?" she asked, noticing the look on Ada's face as she spoke. Alexia said nothing and continued to brush her hair, which now shined in the dim light of the room. "Alexia?"

She set the brush down and turned her head towards Claire. Alexia stood and walked over to where Claire sat, now motionless. She took hold of Claire's chain and gave it a tug. "Up," she said, and Claire obeyed.

She led Claire out of the room and down the corridors. The chill of the concrete halls made Claire's feet numb, and her skin tighten.

Alexia led her to the motor pool, and Claire saw six snowcats parked there. Alexia pushed a button that opened the garage doors and Claire suddenly felt the cold hit her like a weight. It wrapped around her and permeated her entire body, making her shiver.

"Come with me," Alexia said, leading her out the door into a desert of snow and wind.

The snow on her bare feet seemed warmer than the air. Shivering uncontrollably, Claire took short steps behind Alexia, who appeared to not feel the cold at all. Hunched over with her arms futilely covering her chest, Claire shivered, feeling like she'd never be warm again. "How dare you speak to me," Alexia asked.

"S-s-sorry," Claire said, her teeth chattering. "I-I-I w-w-won't do it again."

Alexia yanked downward on the chain, forcing Claire to her knees. Moving closer, Alexia pressed Claire's face between her legs. "I estimate you have three minutes before all the heat in the world won't help you. Pleasure me, and I'll let you back inside."

She didn't like it, but Claire knew doing anything else was tantamount to suicide, so she pressed her blue lips to Alexia's pussy and began to lick. The surface of her skin was cold, but an inch or so inside, Alexia was warm and moist. Claire tried to focus on that warmth and forget the block of ice she felt the rest of her becoming, but it was difficult. She imagined she could somehow take Alexia's heat into the rest of her through her mouth, but at sub-zero temperatures, there was only so much her mind could do.

Something gripped her pony-tail and pressed her against Alexia's pussy. Claire didn't know how long it had been; it felt like an hour, and she stopped being able to feel her body.

"Up," Claire thought she heard Alexia said. "I said up!"

She could hear the clink of her chain and realized it was being yanked. She tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't move. Suddenly, she was being tugged by the arm, back towards the garage.

The doors shut, but Claire felt her insides had frozen, and her skin was so tight she would soon burst like a pinata, sending white puffy snow everywhere. "You're weaker than I thought," Alexia said. "If you make me cross again, I will take you outside and watch your blood freeze. Do you understand?"

"Y-y-yes," Claire said, feeling some warmth return to her skin, and with it pain. Alexia yanked on the chain and led her to the rear one of the snowcats, which she opened and bade Claire to get inside and lie on the wide, rear seat. Her limbs barely obeyed her, but she was able to do as she was told.

Alexia climbed in and shut the door. She unfastened Claire's collar and let it fall to the floor while she slid on top of Claire. Compared to her own chill, Alexia felt like she was made of fire and Claire couldn't resist returning the embrace for the warmth. "Can you feel my warmth?" Alexia asked.

"Y-y-es," Claire said, still shivering. Monster or not, Alexia's body was replenishing the heat Claire thought she'd never feel again and she wanted to contact as much of it as possible.

"Good," Alexia said. "Know that I can be warm for you, or cold. Please me, and you'll know heat, safety, and comfort. Anger me, and become one with chill, pain, and death. Your companion appreciates this."

Claire was beginning to feel pain in her extremities as the numbness left. It was intense and she tried to make her body touch Alexia in as many places as possible. Alexia sat up and took hold of Claire's hand, warming it in her own. "It hurts?" she said.

"Yes," Claire said.

"Even before my transformation I rarely felt discomfort, least of all from the cold."

"Must've been nice," Claire said without thinking. A lump formed in her throat and she waited to see Alexia's reaction.

Alexia laughed. "Your mouth will be the death of you," she said. "For now I find it amusing." She took Claire's red fingers into her mouth and sucked them.

"You asked earlier what I intend to do," Alexia said. "Do you still want to know?"

Claire studied Alexia's face. She wore a smile that said she knew everything and had all the power, but the sense of satisfaction stopped at her eyes. Behind them was a cold mechanical intelligence. It reminded Claire of squid she had seen at an aquarium once.

"Yes," Claire said.

"I intend to spread a version of the T-Veronica virus across the globe. Those infected will be under my command and together we will form one unified world order. No more chaos, no more war, and no more senseless killing."

"No more free will, either," Claire said, wondering if she had some suicidal streak in her.

Alexia laughed again and slid both of her hands over Claire's naval and towards her breasts. She gripped them and it made her nipples stiffen. Claire gasped from the heat of Alexia's hands on her frozen tits. "Free will is an illusion," Alexia said. "Only a few of us truly possess it. The vast majority of the creatures calling themselves human are, at best, biological computer systems programmed to survive long enough to pass along their DNA. Free will, God, the soul, art, all of it is a circuit breaker mechanism designed to keep our advanced brains functional under the knowledge that it will someday cease to be."

"That's...kind of dreary," Claire said, as Alexia's hands slid over her upper chest and throat, then back down again.

"Not at all," Alexia said, moving to the side of Claire and sticking her fingers in her mouth. She sucked them, coating them with spit before gently parting Claire's lower lips. "People shouldn't have to labor under delusions. Once I am this world's living deity, there will be no more death and no more illusions. People will find true freedom in oneness and servitude."

She tried not to moan as Alexia's fingers, seemingly attuned to Claire's own nervous system, found the sweet spot on her clitoris and began to massage it. Her body became tight again, but with electric energy rather than crippling cold.

"Let's see if you do better now," Alexia said, taking her fingers out of Claire. "Kneel."

She sat on the seat and spread her legs. Claire took the hint and positioned herself between Alexia's pale smooth thighs and focused on the pink nub sprouting in the midst of her dark yellow pubic hair.

Taking a deep breath, Claire leaned forward and gently licked the pink flesh between Alexia's legs. First one single vertical stroke with a sideways flicking at the top. On the downward trip, she thrust forward and flattened her tongue, covering a wide area and spreading Alexia open.

Claire placed her hands on Alexia's thighs and looked up. She was staring down at Claire with the barest hint of a smile but looked otherwise unimpressed. Distracting her was the ache in her own pussy, put there by Alexia.

Closing her eyes, Claire thought of Ada and let her tongue take over. She felt Alexia's legs twitch and looked up again to see that her eyelids had dipped and her mouth had parted. Claire continued to lick with wild abandon, letting herself enjoy Alexia's flavor and feeling herself become wetter.

Powerful hands clamped over Claire's skull and forced her face into Alexia's crotch. She heard the other woman emit low moans which became higher in pitch. Alexia's juices flooded Claire's mouth and ran down her chin as she made one, long animal sigh of satisfaction.

She held Claire's head down over her damp pubic hair as she caught her breath. "There's hope for you yet," she said. After a minute, she told Claire to put her collar back on. "You'll find me far less forgiving next time."

"Yes," Claire said.

"Yes, my Queen," Alexia corrected.

"Sorry, my Queen," Claire said, feeling foolish. She focused her thoughts on that and tried not to think about how she had been shown a garage with functional snowcats.

Chapter Sixteen.

Wesker asked more questions as he led Steve to where he he'd encountered Alexia Ashford. It seemed that she'd learned to use much of her power not long after waking up. There were many questions that had to be answered, as much of Alexia's research had not been conducted secret from the rest of the company. How conscious had she been while in stasis, how powerful would she become, and what were her intentions. All these things Wesker wanted to know, and more.

The air raid had been an attempt to disrupt her and commandeer her research, but they had hit the wrong facility. A regrettable error, but it had been planned for. His only hope now was Alexia still felt like she might need the company's aid and would make deals.

He didn't find the state of the facility encouraging. Alexia had either hired poor managers to look after her affairs while she slept, or knew they wouldn't matter once she woke up.

A lesser puzzle was who was Steve really, as he'd been lying about coming here alone. Wesker could detect the scents of two other people on him, and if he wasn't mistaken, they'd been having sex.

"You said you came to this place alone?" Wesker asked, realizing the boy was now lost. They were in a dark hallway with leaking pipes lining the ceiling. He could sense the hunters nearby, waiting for a chance to pounce on the boy once Wesker was far enough away.

"Yeah," Steve said, his voice wavering. "I almost didn't make it."

"I'll bet," he said. "Outbreaks can be hazardous. Where did you get this?" He reached out and deftly plucked a long black hair from Steve's shoulder.

"Get what?" Steve said, turning around.

Wesker guided the boy firmly to where he could stand beneath a dull light bulb and showed him the hair. "I wonder where you picked something like that up on Rockfort Island, or this place for that matter."

"Uh."

The boy was caught in his lie. Wesker wondered how he would answer.

"Okay, so I hooked up with these two crazy chics. I don't know anything about them, I swear."

Wesker's nostrils flared. "I'd wager you know more about them than most. Are they here?"

"Yes," Steve said. "I don't know what happened to them; I think they were captured by that blond woman, but..."

"Never mind. We'll find them in due time," Wesker said, now deeply curious as to who the boy's accomplices were. Once of their scents smelled oddly familiar. Rather than let Steve lead the way, Wesker decided to follow his nose and went where Steve's smell was faint, which took him down the boy's back trail.

"This looks familiar," Steve said. Wesker said nothing, merely noting the architectural difference. They were in a courtyard designed to mirror the old Spencer Estate, a place Wesker did not harbor fond memories of.

"In there," Steve said. Wesker went ahead of Steve through the ornate door. He was only slightly surprised to see the nude form of Alexia Ashford sitting atop the stairs.

"Shit, that's her!" Steve shouted.

"Lady Ashford," Wesker said, stooping into a respectful bow. "My name is Albert Wesker. I'm here on behalf of Umbrella, Inc., and I have a proposition for you."

Alexia laughed. A high, tittering sound that was far more pleasant to hear than her brother's had been. Wesker had known the man briefly and hated him nearly as much as he hated Chris Redfield. "And what would that proposition be, little monster?" she said.

She could sense what he was. Did that mean she could control him, as she could some of the other strains? He didn't know. "Join us," he said. "You're power is great, but you are isolated and have limited resources. If you were to come with me, your aims could be achieved much faster."

"Are you dense, man?" Steve said, slapping Wesker's arm. "Didn't you do your homework? She's not going to join you!"

Alexia laughed again. "The boy is right," she said. "I did not undergo this transformation so I could become a better lap dog. I have a proposition for you, creature. Serve me or be disposed of."

Wesker clenched a fist and hoped the Ashford arrogance was being used to conceal weakness. He bolted up the stairs, jumped to the left and sprung of the bannister at Alexia, hoping to land a hard blow to her temple and stun her long enough for him to inject a powerful sedative he had brought.

Wesker's mutated brain saw things in slow motion when he needed to be quick. As time slowed to a crawl, he saw clearly that Alexia was faster than he. Her face turned toward his with a hint of a smile beneath bright blue eyes that were as cold as the glaciers outside. He might have imagined her to be his lover, sitting in a field on a warm spring day, if he could imagine such things.

Her hand came up and gently pushed his fist off to the side. That same hand then cupped his chin and pushed upward, nearly snapping his neck as his momentum was stopped, redirected, and sent down the stairs.

Rolling down the steps he came to a stop on the floor and got up immediately. He drew his magnum and began firing. With each pull of the trigger, Alexia's form blurred and she would be standing a few feet next to where the bullet had gone. He backed up as he fired, and heard Steve cursing behind him.

He had one option left and wasn't sure it would work. He kept firing with one hand while with the other he took a flash-bang grenade from his belt and pulled the pin. He let it drop between him and Alexia, then waited for it to detonate before he turned and grabbed a stunned Steve by the shoulder. He threw the boy behind him and ran for the door, bursting through it with his shoulder.

What horrors she would inflict on Steve, he didn't know and didn't care. It was clear Alexia was too powerful to deal with directly, and he would have to explore other avenues..

Chapter Seventeen.

Sitting on a red cushioned couch, Steve examined the paintings of members of the Ashford family.

Across from him, in a chair, saw Alexia. She was still naked, but had crossed her legs as though she had something to hide and had stared at him. "Look," Steve said, uncomfortable in the silence. "I don't know who that guy was and I barely know those two women. My dad pissed off Umbrella and we both got thrown in prison. I just want to go home, that's all."

Alexia made no sign she had heard him and continued to stare with her large blue eyes, reminding Steve that the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen was not sane, or even human. He found himself missing Claire, who was weird, but radiated good, clean human warmth, something that in short supply these days.

"Maybe I'm the crazy one," Steve said. "Makes sense, doesn't it? What are the odds everyone but me is out of their gourd? Low, right?"

"Madness is repeating one's actions and expecting to see a different result," Alexia said, startling Steve. "Mankind has been repeating its actions for thousands of years, each time expecting something different. I plan on infusing this world with sanity and order."

Steve made fists, pointing his thumbs in the air where Alexia could see. "Sounds great," he said. "Order and unity; you've got my vote. Now can you stick me on a plane back the United States? I'll hand out fliers if you want."

Alexia's tittering laugh answered him. She uncrossed her legs, giving him a brief glimpse of her yellow pubic hair, and crossed the again the other way. "No," she said. "You've invaded my sanctuary and sealed your fate."

She stood up and came towards him. Steve scrambled over the back of the couch but something caught his belt and pulled him back. He landed hard on his rear at Alexia's feet, who grabbed him by the shirt and pulled it upward. It slid off along with his vest, leaving him shirtless. "Hey," he said. "C'mon."

This was the part that annoyed him the most. Assuming he got home, a miracle on it's own, he might be able to convince someone about the secret prison. It would be next to impossible to sell them on the zombies and monsters. Maybe someone in the government was in the loop and would believe him, but there was no way he would ever sell anyone on what these women kept doing to him; not even a dirty magazine would buy it.

Alexia grabbed his arm and wrenched it around his back, making him cry out. "Your continued existence is dependent on what uses I can find for you. Your two friends are my special pets, but they lack certain anatomy. Your life depends upon pleasing me," Alexia said.

"Okay, okay," Steve said. "Jeez, you don't have to twist my arm."

She let him sit back on the couch where he kicked off his boots and removed his pants and shorts. Alexia's tall, lean body with her curtain of blond hair had him semi-hard before, but the rough treatment had him at full attention.

Alexia knelt in front of him and grabbed his shaft. Her tongue flickered over the tip as she looked at him the same way she had before, like he was a mildly interesting insect. She smiled, her lips touching his penis. "Have you been with the Oriental?"

"The wha...yes," Steve said. "It was her idea."

Alexia took him into her mouth until her lips touched his naval. He felt the tip of his cock touch the back of her throat and expected her to gag, but she didn't. She let him slip out with his cock now coated in saliva, and began to slide her hands down his shaft, one over the other. "I like the Oriental. The girl is amusing as well; I enjoyed punishing her."

Steve jolted, making Alexia frown. "What did you do to her?"

The hard line of her mouth softened. "You fancy her," she said. "How sweet. I merely showed her how much nicer it is to please me rather than make me angry. I can show you, if you'd like." Her hand constricted his penis, first sending pleasure through his body then the barest hint of pain.

"No, no, I'm fine," he said, giving two thumbs up. "Remember, order and unity, I'm all for it."

"You merely don't wish to be killed," Alexia said, stroking him more gently now.

She stopped stroking him and stood long enough to crawl on top of his lap. With her left hand on his shoulder, she used her right to hold his cock still while she lowered herself onto it. Steve sighed as his length slid into her. Her warm, wet pussy contracted around him and held tight as she moved up and down using her thighs.

"I must say, you're rather boring so far," Alexia said. "Do you enjoy sex with women?"

"Say what?" He considered saying something snarky, but didn't want his head twisted off.

Alexia sighed and fondled one of her breasts.

"Oh," Steve said. "Sorry, I..." He cupped the left one and fit her nipple into his mouth, sucking it. Looking up at Alexia, he could see he wasn't impressing her.

He closed his eyes and thought of Claire. What would he do to Claire? Concentrating, he imagined Claire sitting on his cock with her tits in his face. His tongue rolled around the nipple he wished was Claire's as his other hand stimulated the other breast.

Alexia grabbed the hand on her tit and brought down and around to her backside. Steve took the hint and used both his hands to grip Alexia's firm buttocks while keeping her breast in his mouth. He felt himself pushing the brink of an orgasm and hoped he didn't come too soon.

He let her breast fall out of his mouth but it was too late. He let out a hard sigh as his hips bucked upward. Squeezing her ass he felt himself surge once, twice, and a third time before he was spent.

Alexia seemed to be pondering something. "Men," she said. "Nothing's changed in fifteen years. We'll see if you can redeem yourself, otherwise I may have to think of something else."

"It's a start, I suppose," Ada said. "I see some logistical problems. Namely distracting Alexia long enough to get away, plus finding some clothes."

"Maybe you could help with that," Claire said, lying on the bed, playing with the chain that held her to the headboard. Ada knelt between her legs, twirling a finger gently around Claire's pubic line. "Or do you want to be Alexia's sex slave forever?"

Ada smiled. "I'd rather have her be my slave," Ada said, seeing the sour look on Claire's face.

"I bet," Claire said.

"Don't tell me she isn't attractive," Ada said.

Claire's hand fell over her eyes and she sighed. "Yes, once you get past the fact that she's not human, and is to blame for the death of who knows how many people, yes, she's hot."

"Things could be worse. I know you don't want to hear it, but we may have to bide our time until some opportunity presents itself."

"Say no more," said Wesker, stepping out of the shadows. Claire screamed and Ada whirled around.

"Who the hell are you?" Ada asked.

"Albert Wesker," he said. "And if I'm not mistaken...Ada Wong and Claire Redfield."

"How do you know us?" Claire asked, thinking the man's name sounded familiar. She was also now acutely aware of the fact she was naked and chained to a bed.

"You'll puzzle it out eventually, but right now I'm not going to tell you that," Wesker said. "It seems you're trapped with nowhere to turn."

"Help us get out of here," Claire said, undoing her collar. "That woman, she's..."

"Not human and beyond my ability to deal with alone," Wesker said. "This meeting has to be quick, while she's occupied with the boy."

"Steve! Is he alright?"

"I don't know," Wesker said, pulling a white plastic tube out of his pocket. He held it up and pulled off the cap, revealing it to be a syringe. "This is a sedative designed for use on the Tyrant series. A double dose. When you get a chance, inject Alexia with it. I'll be nearby." He put the syringe under the bed.

"Why should we trust you?" Claire said.

"You have no other options," he said, looking at Ada, who nodded.

"He's right. Next time she comes up to party, one of us will do it."

"It's settled. You have no choice," Wesker said, picking up a bottle of perfume from the night stand. He smelled it before spraying copious amounts on the floor. "She would know I was here," Wesker said. "She might know anyway, but that's a chance we have to take. Invent some lie about the perfume."

Before Claire could object, he left the room through the door. "That was unexpected," she said.

"Yes, it was. We need to talk about how we're going to handle Alexia when she gets back. And stop worrying about the boy; he's on his own for now."

Steve was lying on his back. The carpet was thick and comfortable, and his cock ached. Alexia sat on top of him, rocking back and forth. He gritted his teeth as his orgasm limped through his body. Alexia looked bored and scooped a trace of the sperm drying on one of her breast off with her finger and placed it in her mouth so it could join the load in her stomach.

He had learned two things about Alexia in his time with her. It was hard to make her climax, but when she did, he usually got bruised in the process. Also, when she didn't swallow it, she liked to wear semen. There was a load of his seed dripping down her back to match the one on her chest.

As he panted, catching his breath, he could still taste and smell her pussy, having given her most of her orgasms with his tongue and lips. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to get her off with his cock before blowing his own load. Tight wasn't the word for her. She expertly controlled every muscle in her body and his cock stood no chance of lasting for more than a few minutes inside her.

She stood up, letting his deflating penis slip out of her. "There's room for improvement," she said. "Get up and dress."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No," she said. "I have a plan for you." She let him dress. "Now, come with me."

He did as he was told and followed her out of the room, watching the rivulets of his seed that had run down over the curve of her buttocks dry up.

Chapter Eighteen.

Looking at a clock, she was pleased to see she didn't feel tired after so many hours. Fatigue had been another human limitation, one Alexia's work had taken her beyond.

Still, she had done much in the past twenty-four hours and while not sleepy, she did feel the need to collect her thoughts. Nothing seemed to relax her better than playing with her pets. The brown-haired one had learned to fear her and the Oriental seemed to be growing accustomed to her new lot in life.

She had prepared for her awakening well. Near the chamber in which she had slept, letting the virus work its wonders, there was a room where she stored some private effects. A simple yet elegant purple dress, a hairbrush, and some slippers. Looking a mirror, she frowned. Despite the brushing, her long golden hair was tangled and matted in places, and she was filthy with grime and dried fluids. She smirked, realizing that hygiene was a trapping of humanity, as was the need to sleep.

Trapping of humanity or not, cleanliness was next to godliness and it tied directly into dignity and honor, things human's could not truly attain. She decided she needed a shower, as did her pets. Still nude, she left her private room and made her way to the upper level where her pets were waiting.

The Oriental was lying on the bed, sleeping, while the brown-haired one sat at the foot of the bed, lost in thought. She looked up when Alexia entered the room. Studying the brown-haired girl – was Claire her name? - she noticed how filthy she was as well. No doubt she'd been soaked in her own sweat and that of others quite a few times in the past few days, not to mention gore from the creature's she had encountered.

"You're filthy," Alexia said. "Both of you."

The Oriental stirred while Claire simply looked at her. The fire still burnt behind her bright blue eyes and she likely couldn't bring herself to speak words of humility and respect without being prompted. She fixed Claire with a cold stare and was pleased to see fear in the insect's eyes. "Yes, mistress. I'm sorry," Claire said. Clever little animal, Alexia thought.

The Oriental was now awake, but remained silent. "Come with me." Alexia took hold of the small chains that had been fixed to the dog collars each wore around their neck. They both stood and were led by her.

She took them through frigid corridors and enjoyed hearing them shiver. Their destination was a locker room for the facility's workers, some of which still roamed. The locker room contained a large room lined with shower heads that still functioned.

"Remove your collars," she said, standing in front of a shower station. "Would you like it hot, or cold?" Alexia asked, looking directly at Claire.

"Hot, please," Claire said. "My Queen."

Alexia turned the water on and the room was filled with steam from the jet of scalding water. "Step under it."

Claire felt the water with her hand. She winced. Alexia held her hand under the water and could tell it would be highly uncomfortable for a human to stand under. Dangerous, even. "It's too hot," Claire said.

Alexia noticed a worried look on the Oriental's face. She either cared for the brown-haired one, or was worried for herself. "Would you rather it be cold?" She turned the knob and soon ice water was spitting out the shower head.

Claire said nothing.

Alexia smiled. She was tired of this game. She turned the water temperature to a setting she remembered liking before she cared for such things and stood under it. It did feel good. The streams of water pressed lightly over her skin, releasing tension and washing away grime she hadn't felt until it was gone.

"You, fetch soap from the lockers," she said to the one she remembered was called Ada. She was the least likely to do something foolish if she found a weapon. "You. Come here," Alexia said, and Claire obeyed.

Alexia watched the water hit Claire's body and noticed how she reacted with ill-disguised pleasure. Insect or not, it seemed as though she enjoyed a good shower as her body turned slightly in the water column, taking up as much heat and moisture as it could.

Alexia slipped an arm around the back of Claire's head and pulled her wet body close. She parted Claire's lips with her tongue and explored her mouth. Ada returned, having found a bar of soap and a shampoo bottle. Alexia made a point to look at Ada as she kissed Claire, and noted the raw jealously on her face.

She pulled away from the kiss and beckoned for Ada to come closer. "Use the soap," she said, holding her arms out. "Be thorough."

Ada did as she was told, soaping Alexia's chest, breasts, armpits, arms, sides, hips, and stomach. "Let the other one have her turn," Alexia said, and Claire took over. She got on her knees and rubbed the bar of soap over Alexia's naval. "Don't cut corners," Alexia said, shuddering as Claire soaped wet, blond patch of hair between her legs.

Then she did something unexpected. Her two soapy fingers played over the pink nub of flesh that poked above her pubic hair, then slid their way up inside of her. Alexia let out a breath and smiled. "What are you doing?" Alexia asked, not fooled that Claire had finally broken.

"You said to be thorough, mistress," Claire said, looking up, thinking she looked subservient. Alexia brushed a wet strand of brown hair from Claire's face and turned around, letting her soap her buttocks, legs, and finally her back. She let the water and the bodies of the other two cleanse her. She caressed their wet forms and they did the same to hers, each going so far as to take a breast in their mouths apiece once they were free of soap.

"Wash yourselves. Make a show of it," Alexia said, suddenly stepping away from them. She took the bottle of shampoo over to an opposite shower head and turned it on. While she washed her lengthy hair, she observed her pets in action.

Ada pressed Claire to the back of the wall, shoving her hand between the other woman's legs. Ada made a show like she had been told, spending a lot of time covering Claire's tits with her mouth, letting the water rinse everything away.

Claire fell to her knees again and used her tongue to probe between Ada's legs. The two were practiced lovers, Claire making Ada moan while pleasuring herself with a free hand. By the time Alexia's hair was washed, Claire was lying on the ground with Ada's head between her legs. Ada had stuck her buttocks high in the air and with her free hand was fingering herself and spreading herself open for Alexia's viewing pleasure. She sighed and went over, knelt before Ada's exposed posterior, and slid her middle and ring fingers into the Oriental's vagina. Her index finger hovered around the other woman's anus for a moment before sliding inside.

Ada moaned as Alexia gently pumped her fingers in an out of her orifices. She moved faster as Claire began to orgasm, and soon Ada was moaning along with her.

With her pets spent, Alexia tasted the vaginal juices on her fingers before letting the water rinse her clean. "You," she said, slapping Ada's ass with a wet smack. "Fetch towels."

Still damp, it was a chilly walk back, at least for the humans.

Chapter Nineteen.

Claire sat on the floor, her arms cross over her bare chest. Ada lay on the bed with her hands behind her head, looking as though she was preparing to sleep. Alexia had been gone for some time and had made no indication as to where she went.

All manner of worries wound through Claire's mind, including what would happen if their plan to inject Alexia with the tranquilizer failed. She remembered where she'd heard the name Wesker before as well. Chris would sometimes complain about him, as he'd been captain of the STARS team. She wondered if Wesker had some clue as to where her brother was.

The door opened, and Alexia entered. She looked pleased about something, and cast a glance at Claire that made her skin crawl. "My pets must be hungry," Alexia said, and Claire's stomach growled. It had been a while since she'd eaten. Alexia hadn't phrased her words like a question, so neither answered. "Entertain me and I'll let you eat at a table. Bore me and you'll eat from bowls," Alexia added.

Ada said up, and Claire got ready to move to the bed as they waited for Alexia's command. "Play with each other," she said, crossing her arms.

Claire crawled onto the bed and locked lips with Ada. She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of her warm body and the soft sheets. Nuzzling between her breasts, Claire thought she could be in a hotel in France, or anywhere else in the world that wasn't a bioweapons lab in Antarctica. She slid her face down over Ada's stomach and naval, smelling her clean skin before feeling the stubble of her pubic hair on her chin.

Her tongue went to its usual places and Claire allowed herself more time to daydream about being somewhere else. Feeling Ada squirm and moan, Claire thought her lover was most likely savoring the idea that she was being held captive by a monster at the bottom of the world.

A pair of warm hands slid over her buttocks and squeezed them, bringing Claire back to reality. She focused on licking Ada while anticipating Alexia's wet fingers. When they slid into her, she gasped. Alexia worked Claire like a switchboard, each movement sent a shock of pleasure through her body that built on the last.

In what seemed like no time at all, Claire was climaxing, hard. She stopped licking Ada and rode it out, or tried to. Each movement of Alexia's hand made her entire body tense and relax hard enough to make her cry out. Alexia sped her thrusts up, and again each time her hand slid forward an orgasmic wave slammed into Claire.

"Oh, oh, oh, God," Claire shouted, not caring where she was anymore. She found herself being bombarded by a wave of orgasms, each orgasm was stronger than the last. Eventually, it was became harder to draw breath in between them.

"S-stop," she said, but Alexia didn't. "Please, s-top, I...can't...ugh."

She didn't remember passing out, or rolling off the bed onto the floor.

She opened her eyes and was afraid to move. Shifting her legs even slightly sent echoes of what she had felt before all through her body. Gritting her teeth, she sat up and saw Ada in the same position she had been in with Alexia between her legs, licking. Ada was gripping the headboard, her face scrunched up and her knuckles white. She looked like she wanted to scream, but was resisting it.

Alexia had assumed Claire's position, her legs spread with her round, white buttocks high in the air. Claire reached for the syringe under the bed, which had been left uncapped. She'd been practicing this move in her mind since the plan was made. Fearing Alexia would sense her intent, Claire looked at her right buttock and allowed herself to admire the shape of it.

Perfectly round and without a blemish, she could see Alexia's muscles ripple beneath the skin, all the way down her thigh and to her calves. Focusing on the right buttock, she rose, admiring how seemed to glow in the dim light, along with the top of the other one just on the other side of the dark cleft between them. She fancied giving it a squeeze, maybe even a tiny bite.

She stuck the needle in, pushed the plunger down, and prayed.

Alexia reared up in surprise and Ada immediately rolled off the bed. "What..." Alexia removed the syringe and looked at Claire, who crawled backward on the floor as fast as her rubbery legs would take her.

Did she look unsteady, or was Claire imagining things? She couldn't tell as Alexia strode forward and picked Claire up by the chin. Pushing her hard into the wall, she fixed her with her bright blue stare, one that promised severe pain and death. "Where did you get this?" Alexia asked, holding up the syringe, letting Claire see how easily it could be driven into her eye.

Claire thought she felt her blood congeal. "W-Wesker," she said. "He told me to use it."

"What is it?" Alexia asked.

"He said it was a sedative," Claire said. "He said he'd kill..."

Alexia's hand went to Claire's throat and pressed gently, but firmly. "I doubt he had to twist your arm much. Tell me, do you want to die?"

"No, please," Claire said. "Don't kill me."

Alexia's face hardened and she squeezed Claire's neck a little more. Were her eye lids lowering?

"Then..." her hand clamped over Claire's throat and her head bobbed forward. "I..."

Claire grabbed her by the wrist and pulled it away. Alexia staggered backward and fell when Claire shoved her. After she thudded to the floor, Claire heard Ada moaning. She looked to see her on the floor on the other side of the bed, masturbating furiously.

"Now what?" Claire said, once Ada finished and was able to stand.

"We tie her ass up and take her back with us...damn," Ada said.

Claire put her hands on her hips.

"Kidding," Ada said. "We find out gear and we get out of here."

"What about her?"

"Leave her for Wesker. We don't want to be around when he comes back."

Claire nodded. "Alright. Know where out stuff is?"

"I have an idea."

"We'll need to find Steve, too," Claire said.

Ada sighed. "Alright. But if we get caught again, don't complain."

Chapter Twenty.

Once again, Ada proved to have a knack for finding stolen clothes. "What did she do with out guns?" Claire asked, pulling up her jeans.

Ada held up two pistols and handed one to Claire. "This is all I could find. We've done more with less."

Claire noticed Steve's clothes weren't with theirs, which meant he probably still had them. "Now we find Steve," she said.

"You find him. I'm going to secure a way of out of here."

"I don't think splitting up is a good..."

"Listen," Ada said. "I'm starting to think you're not cut out for this."

What?" Claire tried to read Ada's expression.

"It's not you, it's me," Ada said. "I like things a certain way, and when we met back in Raccoon I thought maybe you were the same, but this little adventure has made me see we're different people...maybe a little too different."

Claire was surprised to feel a weight on her chest and a tingling in her limbs. She didn't know how to respond.

"I'll get a way out and wait for you. Find your little boyfriend, quickly."

"He's not my boyfriend," Claire said. "Is that what this is about?"

Ada simply shrugged and walked out the door. Feeling as numb as she had when Alexia took her outside, Claire left the room to search for Steve. The compound was large, half falling down, and dangerous. Zombies roamed the halls and had become trapped in some of the frigid rooms. The cold had slowed most of them and Claire was able to walk past them or kick them over without resorting to using up her limited ammunition.

As she searched, the compound began to take on the characteristics of a medieval dungeon, making her wonder for the thousandth time who had designed the place and for what purpose. She didn't spend much time examining the strange rooms and halls and was about to go back and search the other side of the facility when she entered a particularly odd area.

The room was made of stone and had a high ceiling. All it consisted of was a long stone walkway, lined on either side with suits of armor that spanned a pool leading to a stone throne. Sitting on the throne was Steve, shirtless and held up by the handle of a massive ax that sunk into the stone behind him. "Steve!" Claire shouted, and ran to him.

He picked his head up and his eyes fluttered open. Checking him over for injuries, she noticed an ominous mark on his left bicep. She recognized it from when she was young and had come back from the doctor after getting her shots. "Steve...what happened."

"She...did something..." His eyes shut, then opened wide, revealing his red irises.

"Oh, no," Claire said, trying to pull the ax out, knowing she should probably leave it be. She didn't know what had been done to Steve, but it wasn't likely going to get reversed.

"Run," he said. "Run!"

She backed away and watched him change. His muscles bulged, she heard his bones pop and shift as they mutated beneath his darkening skin. Claire ran down the hall and swore as a portcullis slammed down in front of the door, perhaps dislodged by the vibrations being sent through the room by Steve's violent transformation. He had turned into some kind of hulking lizard-human hybrid. She could still see the rough outline of his face, as well as his haircut. He lumbered towards her, carrying the ax that had been used to pin him.

Claire's eyes traveled down his massive chest to where his pants had been torn open. Seeing the large erection he sported, a very Ada-like idea occurred to her that might buy some time to think. She walked towards him, trying to see him as a brainless monster and not the troubled young man he had been. When he swung the ax, meaning to slice her in half, she ducked and ran forward. She gripped his thick shaft tight and looked up at him, hoping for the right reaction.

Confusion and lust were plastered over his flat, reptilian face. It broke her heart to look at it, but she couldn't let such emotion show if her plan was to work. Channeling Ada, she licked the tip of his penis as she squeezed it harder. Slightly less than a foot long, her hand barely fit around it but she was able to lather it in saliva enough to get a good motion going. She stroked him hand over hand like she was climbing a rope, giving the head a hard suck whenever she needed more lubricant.

The ax clattered to the floor and fell in the water. Low moans escaped Steve's jaws and his cock began to secrete fluid from the tip, making Claire's job easier. He staggered, but kept his footing. Claire wondered if he'd fall asleep after she was done, or if his urge to murder would take over again. She stroked him slower, hoping to buy more time in which to think of a way out. The pool had to be fed from somewhere, with luck maybe she could dive in and swim out.

Steve roared and white goop erupted from the tip of his cock, coating Claire's fingers. She stroked harder, wanting to wear him out as much as possible. He stood above her, breathing hard. Looking down, his eyes narrowed as she vainly tried to regain his interest in being jerked off, however her touch now seemed to annoy him.

"Duck," said Ada, from behind. Claire turned and saw her at the portcullis with what looked like a rocket launcher aimed through the bars.

"No!" Claire shouted, and threw herself forward as the rocket came at them. She felt the heat from the explosion as the rocket connected. Rolling onto her back, she saw the tops of Steve's clawed feet and smoke rising from the heap that had been his body.

Her vision blurred by tears, she stood and wiped her eyes long enough to see the monster that had been Steve was not breathing. He lacked a chest to do so with.

"Was that necessary?" Claire shouted, running to Ada, who had lowered the launcher she'd found.

"Yes," Ada said, coldly. "What the hell did you think could be done with him?" Claire reached through the bars and slapped Ada. "You act strange for someone who depends on me," Ada said.

"Am I just a pet to you?" Claire asked. "If you weren't on a mission, would you have rescued me at all?"

Ada said nothing and let the launcher fall to the ground while she operated the crank that rose the portcullis. "Follow me, I found a way out of here," Ada said.

She looked back at Steve, wondering if it was right to simply let him lie there. Ada walked far ahead, saying nothing and moving quickly. Claire wondered what was going on when she led her to a different part of the base than where the motor pool was. Ada hit a switch on the wall and about a dozen lights lit up a massive room. It was an airplane hanger with a row of jets parked side by side. "Can you fly?" Claire asked.

"Wouldn't be here if I couldn't," Ada said, her words colder than the air. Claire followed her to one of the jets and wondered where the runway was or if the jets were even flyable.

Something screeched from behind a crate and was joined by more. What the..." Claire said, seeing a number of humanoid pebble-skinned monsters come running out into the open.

Ada bolted, and Claire followed, shooting wildly in the monster's direction. They were fast, but Ada had prepped the jet she intended to use and was halfway up the ladder to the cockpit before Claire was at the bottom. One of the monsters had a lead over the others and Claire stopped to put three rounds in its face before climbing up. The monster screeched, but didn't die, making Claire glad they were leaving. She didn't let herself feel relieved until she was in the backseat of the cockpit and the glass cover closed. She could hear the monsters bellow as they tried to leap up and get them. "How are we taking off?" Claire asked.

"You'll see," Ada said, who was flicking buttons. Whatever she had done, the roof above them appeared to be drawing back. It was as if whoever had built the place knew they might not have time to open the ceiling elsewhere and would have to do so from the safety of the cockpit, Claire thought. "Oh, it's a hover jet," Claire said quietly, knowing a long, uneasy silence was likely ahead of them.

"Harrier," Ada corrected. The jet rose and Claire sat back, wondering what would happen now as they headed north into the blue sky. She wanted to worry about Alexia still being alive and in the hands of Umbrella. She wanted to cry over Steve, but all she could do was think about Ada and wonder if this was the end.

As relationships went, it had been poor one. So why do I feel like a hole's being torn in me? She thought.

Chapter Twenty-One.

Epilogue.

Alexia woke up in a white room lit by a single bulb set deep into the ceiling. She'd been supplied with a pair of plain white cotton pants and a shirt, which she decided she may as well wear while she starred at the thick door and its tiny glass window.

Could she perhaps push her body through that small opening and survive? She didn't know. She hadn't tried to escape at all, thinking it was best to wait and see how the company would treat her. She admitted she hadn't anticipated some logistical problems that arose once she'd regained consciousness after her long slumber. Perhaps I was too hasty in spurning the Wesker creature, she thought. She was under no illusions about his true intentions, but a limited partnership now seemed more appealing.

She also quietly admitted to herself that she'd been arrogant, and it allowed a pair of spies get the better of her, something that should not have happened. She would remember them, their faces, their voices, their smells, their tastes. It wouldn't be enough to simply kill them. She would make them feel true despair before subjecting them to the greatest horrors ever devised.

Such thoughts were diversions, however, and more pressing matters were at hand. Still, the memory of Claire shivering in the snow and begging was a pleasant one.

"Ms. Ashford," came the flat tone of Wesker's voice over a speaker.

"Mr. Wesker," she replied, standing in the center of the room with her arms crossed.

"My apologies for bringing you here under such circumstances, but Umbrella will not be denied. Surely you can understand."

She did. Those beneath her had always been laboring under the delusion that they could somehow use her, or even more ridiculous, stood as her equal. They'd been nothing more than weights on the hem of her dress and she yearned to be rid of them.

"Allow me to make my final offer," Wesker said. "We want what you want. Unity. World peace. We've been struggling for many years, as you know, on methods of perfecting a tool that would bring such things about under the guise of biological weapons development. The results have been mixed, and while what you've accomplished is no less than a marvel, I'm afraid it may be a little impractical on a large scale."

He either thinks I'm a fool, or he is one himself, Alexia thought. Spencer and his ilk want to be gods. Immortals. Unity, world peace...words used to explain it to insects, like that boy, when an explanation is needed. Do they think I mean to share godhood?"

"We have a number of promising projects that unfortunately have hit dead-ends," Wesker said. "Someone of your considerable intellect, not to mention experience, would produce breakthrough after breakthrough. All we need is your cooperation."

"And if you don't receive it?"

"Then we terminate you and learn what we can from your DNA and the notes we recovered. I should warn you, those spies got away with a staggering amount of data, meaning the competition will be stiff and there will be little time for negotiations."

And now he acts strong, perhaps thinking I will respect him, she thought. "Very well," she said. Her next words were very hard to say, but necessary. "Perhaps I overestimated my position, and misunderstood yours."

"Excellent," Wesker said. "Then shall we begin to talk in earnest about your future with Umbrella?"

Claire saw Ada for the last time in a hotel room after taking her cut, one week after returning to the United States. On the up side, Claire was no longer hurting for money. Heck, I might even finish college, she thought.

Watching Ada leave had been abrupt. There she was in the hotel room one moment, and out the door the next. "Good luck with your brother," was the last thing she said.

"Thanks," had been Claire's goodbye. The whole thing had been so abrupt, Claire wondered the following morning if she hadn't dreamed it. Both the breakup and the relationship itself. Stop calling it a relationship, she thought.

With her money and freedom, she wandered North America, half-heartedly checking places Chris might be, not wanting to put herself in danger again so soon. After about two months, she found herself siting in the dining area of a hotel outside Tuscon, Arizona. The door opened, and she looked at who had come through. Another Chris look-alike, she thought, then burst into tears when she met her brother's eyes.

He'd come in with a man she'd never seen before, and now ignored. After many cries of "Where the hell have you been," and "Why the hell did you come looking when I told you not to," the strange man coughed and suggested they go to Claire's room.

They did, and while all Claire wanted to do was hear about what Chris had been doing, he insisted they had business to attend to and there would be time to catch up later. He introduced the suited man as Mr. Burke, and let him speak.

"We're starting a special anti-bioweapons unit," Mr. Burke said. "We want you to be a part of it, considering your experiences."

Some of Chris' discomfort and agitation was explained once Mr. Burke explained that while what Umbrella had been doing was illegal, so were Claire's activities. "We're prepared to forget all that, should you help us," Mr. Burke said.

"And if I refuse?" Claire asked, feeling a sense of deja vu.

"Your assets will confiscated and you'll find yourself before a military tribunal, which will be inclined to send you to a secret prison for the rest of your life."

"Risk my life or go to prison forever," Claire said, looking at Chris. His face had darkened considerably.

"Don't worry," Mr. Burke said. "Your brother is in good standing with us and has some pull. You won't be asked to do anything too dangerous. Maybe some work with VIPs."

For most of the conversation afterward, Claire wondered if she would cross paths with Ada again.

The end.


	3. Chapter 3

Women In Red 3

Chapter One.

The backwoods of Spain looked like no postcard Claire Redfield had ever seen. She rode in the backseat of a musty smelling police cruiser being driven by two of the most boorish cops she'd ever met. The view of gray skies and trees carrying brown crinkled leaves reflected her mood, which was broken only by the lecherous backward glances of the cops.

As she often did when feeling gloomy, she turned her mind towards Ada Wong, a woman she'd spent several months with stealing secrets from pharmaceutical companies such as Umbrella Inc. They'd been lovers of a sort, their relationship nothing short of sheer madness, having begun during a nightmare and ended in another.

-And did I learn my lesson?- she wondered to herself now, as she had many times. -Of course not. And now here I am, riding in the back of a police car in the middle of nowhere with two sleazebags.- She decided to think about her latest mistake, or at leas the parts she'd enjoyed.

Claire Redfield was assigned to be Ashley Graham's bodyguard two years after her father was elected president of the United States of America. Claire expected her to be an annoying, spoiled princess, and while Ashley was certainly accustomed to the good life, Claire found her to be smart, respectful, and generally a decent person.

Naturally the president's young, attractive daughter had been subject to a high level of attention from the media and other unpleasant people. At first she was surrounded by a small army of Secret Service agents, more so than her father got on some occasions. This presented problems both in terms of cost and visibility.

Some of the best security firms in the world were contracted to solve the issues surrounding the president's daughter. They came up with a plan that involved reducing the amount of agents guarding her, but placed one agent with her at all times. The challenge was finding someone who could spend the time with Ashley and be a bodyguard without looking too much like a bodyguard.

That person happened to be Claire, who'd found herself in the government's employ whether she liked it or not. Her brother, Chris, had recommended her for the job, having promised her easy, low-risk work. She had her doubts, but all she had to do was be around Ashley Graham at all times and let the Secret Service keep the mobs back during public appearances. The security and public relations firms had advised giving the media something to work with on occasion to keep them appeased, and Ashley liked the spotlight in small doses.

Sometimes when Claire looked at a mob of howling Ashley Graham fans all she saw were rotting hands and teeth yearning to devour the girl's guts.

Ashley kept a busy schedule, making public appearances and pursuing her education. She had a stubborn streak when it came to one thing, and that was where she went and when she went there. Being an eighteen-year-old woman, no one had the legal right to tell her different, and that was how Claire got to know her best. They shared hotel rooms, dorm rooms, tour buses, and once a tent when Ashley insisted on visiting Yellowstone National Park. Against orders, Claire became friends with the girl. It was overlooked, as some felt it made Claire better at her job.

The pair talked about everything, and one night Claire told Ashley, in a whisper, what really happened in Raccoon City. Ashley had nodded along, but Claire knew her well enough to know she didn't really believe, which was just as well.

Talking with Ashley made Claire forget about Ada Wong, and later she would think that's exactly what led her to make the same mistake twice. When Ashley started college, she and Claire shared a dorm room and fell into the habit of talking long into the night. After the first week, once she was settled, Ashley began talking about the men she'd met on campus and said she was worried.

About what? Claire asked.

Well...dad never let me get out all that much. Not by myself. He was a senator when I was in high school, so I guess I just never had much time for boys.

You've got time now, Claire said, thinking about her own short college career. That's pretty much how most people spend half their freshman year.

Yeah, but I'm the president's daughter. Who's going to want to get involved with me that isn't some opportunistic creep?

Claire shrugged. Could be fun, you never know.

That earned her a playful swat across the knee. They were sitting cross legged on opposite sides of Ashley's bed. I wouldn't know what to do with a guy anyway, Ashley said. Imagine that in the tabloids. Ashley Graham: Bad kisser.

Kissing? Please. You mean to tell me you've never kissed a boy?

What's that supposed to mean? Ashley said. I mean, I've kissed people, sure, but...

There's nothing to it, Claire said.

I have no idea where to begin, Ashley said. I've seen it. It looks like you try to eat the other person's mouth, but there's got to be more to it than that.

An image of lipless zombies flashed in Claire's mind and tried to banish it by looking at Ashley's un-zombie-like face. She had a smooth complexion, round cheeks, and all of it framed by short blond hair. Claire thought she could see something being considered behind the girl's almond-brown eyes and decided she'd be the one to say it.

I could show you, Claire said.

Ashley's cheeks turned red. You could? She looked around as though someone might be watching. Wouldn't that be weird? Is kissing a girl the same as kissing a guy?

Girls kiss better, Claire said. It might spoil it for you.

Ashley's eyes went wide, then narrowed while she smiled. Alright, she said, looking around. Show me what to do.

Claire leaned forward, inches from Ashley's face and licked her lips. Copy what I do, she said, pressing her lips against Ashley's. She slipped her tongue into the other girl's mouth and ran it over her teeth, then let the action be repeated on her. Ashley's fears of being a bad kisser proved unfounded. She got the idea quickly and was soon performing her own tongue tricks. Claire ended up on her back, enjoying the clean taste of Ashley's mouth, but they stopped when her shirt became unbuttoned.

You get the idea, Claire said.

Yeah, Ashley replied.

Once apart they didn't speak for the rest of the night and exchanged few words the following day. A few days later things had returned to normal, then on another night, not unlike the first, Ashley asked to practice kissing again.

Are you sure? Claire asked.

I'm sure, Ashley said. You can't do something once and expect to be good at it.

Events repeated themselves up until Claire was on her back with the white t-shirt she wore pulled high up towards her chest. Unlike the last time, Ashley didn't stop, and instead began to nuzzle Claire's torso, bellow her breasts.

Ashley, Claire said. This...

Is practice, Ashley said, pushing Claire's shirt up higher. No harm done.

Claire let it happen and felt as though she'd leapt off a tall building. The decision had been made, the action taken, and now gravity would do its work, leaving her to feel free until the inevitable consequence rushed up to meet her. As she fell and felt Ashley's caresses, kisses, and other affections, thoughts of Ada Wong, zombies, and monsters left her. How long the fall lasted she couldn't say; it was both quick and never ending.

This should stay between you and me, Claire said when it was over. She was naked and sweating on the bed with Ashley lying off to her side, her head resting bellow Claire's breast.

My lips are sealed, Ashley said.

What happened that night became routine. During the day they became more distant to avoid suspicion, like drunks driving twenty miles under the speed limit for fear of getting pulled over. It was agony for them both, and at night, once alone, they made up for the deficit of affection with interest. It was during the day, and sometimes in the night after the lovemaking, that Claire's mind swirled with thoughts of Ada, and how this was something she would do.

Several times she made up her mind to request a transfer, but her conviction was only strong during the day, away from Ashley. She would not put in the request before breaking it off, and so the state of affairs carried on.

For her sophomore year, Ashley decided she wanted to study abroad in Europe. This gave Claire a bad feeling, who had learned to trust these sensations when they came on, but Ashley's stubbornness won out in the end. To top it off, rumors about Ashley Graham and her young body guard were beginning to gain traction. Nothing had hit the tabloids yet, but it wouldn't be long before it did, and Claire guessed the media pressure in Europe would not be as strong. She cared nothing for public opinion, but did not want to be reassigned, despite what she felt during periods of lucidity.

The disaster came about a month into Ashley's first semester in Europe. She and Ashley shared a dorm room in a private suite nestled at the edge of a wooded area, away from the bustle of the small but affluent Spanish town. The isolation had been their mistake, Claire would later think. Better to have kept her closer to people.

Claire had been with Ashley all day, sitting in on her classes and when they returned to the room, Claire entered first in accordance with procedure. When a blue object twice the size of her fist smashed through the window, Claire shoved Ashley back, not realizing the flash-bang had really been meant for her.

When Claire came to her senses, pieces of the two Secret Service agents that had been assigned to guard the building were strewn around the suite's kitchen, and Ashley was gone.

Some said it wasn't her fault, others blamed her entirely. Claire herself was with the later camp. It was a few days before the chaos subsided, and Chris came to meet with her.

They're giving you one more chance, Chris said over coffee at a cafe in the same town Ashley had been taken from. A small miracle had occurred, and news of Ashley's kidnapping had been kept out of the media for the time being.

Lucky me, Claire said.

Agents are being put on different leads, real covert stuff. They're going to send you to check on one of the more remote ones. If you find Ashley, you probably keep your job and stay out of jail.

Of those who blamed Claire for the fiasco, not all felt it was because of incompetence. Some had whispered aloud they thought she'd been in on it, and it had been strongly hinted to her that if things turned out badly, she'd be interrogated using enhanced techniques and sent somewhere no one would come looking to live out the rest of her short life.

Well that's nice, Claire said. This way we can drag it out...

Chris smiled and held up a finger, although his face looked troubled. They only think you're chasing a cold trail. I happen to have my own connections the government doesn't know about, and I think you'll find the lead is hot.

Claire swirled her coffee and read her brother's mind through his face. You don't like this idea for a lot of reasons, so why are you setting it up?

Well, one, I know what will happen to you if you don't find her. Two, I know more about you and Ashley than you think I know... he held up a finger again when she started to protest. You need this. Plus, I'm willing to admit that maybe you can handle yourself in a dangerous situation. I don't like it, but I can't see another way.

Taking a sip of her drink, Claire set it down hard. If we know where she is, we should send as many agents as we have in after her. As much as I want to be the one that saves her, it would be wrong for me to go it alone just to redeem myself.

That's where you're wrong, Chris said. If these idiots will swarm the place once they know where she is, and that'll get her killed. This has to be done quietly for more than one reason, and one agent is just what the doctor ordered.

They debated the matter until their third cups of coffee were cold, their arguments going in circles like the drinks themselves when stirred. The last time you didn't listen to me you nearly got killed, Chris said. Remember when I distinctly said 'If anything happens, don't come to Raccoon looking for me,' remember that?

I do, quite clearly. I went somewhere dangerous looking for someone I cared about and nearly got killed. Boy, talk about deja vu.

Chris tapped his thick, dextrous fingers on the table and frowned. You know, I had to talk myself into setting this up for you, I didn't expect to have to convince you.

She got angry then, and felt as though she might slap him. -I'm the one that needs slapping,- she'd thought. I just want what's best for Ashley, and you know it.

This is best, trust me. I wouldn't throw you into something you couldn't handle or play with the girl's life, even for your sake. Are you in or not? Once you confirm she's there, you can expect support.

Alright, she said. Thanks, Chris.

And so now Claire found herself traveling down a back road in the Spanish countryside with two annoying cops, still wondering if she was doing the right thing. This is it, the one in the passenger seat said as the car came to a halt before a wooden bridge. A trail led off to the north and the cop pointed towards it. Down that way. Maybe someone will speak enough English to tell what you want to know. Make it quick and maybe you can come sit with us a while?

Don't think so, boys, she said, getting out and brushing herself off. They snickered to each other as she walked down the trail. The wheel ruts were deep and made walking hard.

As she traveled the wooded path, she wondered how good Chris' information was. He said a cult was involved, but most of the details were just rumors. Claire thought it sounded suspicious, as cults tended to be made of loners and kooks who generally didn't have the resources or know-how to pull off kidnapping the president's daughter.

-It's my best shot,- she thought. -I don't care what happens, as long as Ashley is safe.-

Chapter Two.

The dirt path led to a dilapidated, gray with a porch that creaked under Claire's feet as she stepped up to the front door, which hung open. She knocked on the door frame and called out in Spanish "Hello? Is anyone home?"

Luckily for her, the Spanish she'd taken in high school and college had been refreshed recently by the course she'd sat in on with Ashley. She and the girl had studied it together, and could speak it well enough to not sound foolish.

There was no reply from inside the house, but there were noises. -I don't have time to be polite,-she thought, and went inside. The layout of the house was simple and she found the home's sole occupant around a corner in the back tending a fire. He was an older man and was dressed how she imagined a peasant might dress some eighty years ago.

His face was ashen and he moved with drunken vigor. "Sorry for barging in," Claire said, her Spanish simple and polite. "I'm looking for someone. Maybe you've seen her?."

She held up a photo of Ashley Graham, let the man study it, and returned it to her pocket. She let him take a look at her sidearm, too, and hoped he wouldn't need to look at a badge. "No," he said. "I have seen no one like that."

He turned back to the tiny fire that was giving him trouble. Claire found his lack of concern over a strange, gun-totting woman suddenly appearing in his home a little curious. -I guess Chris was on to something,- she thought.

She turned to leave thinking she would look around outside the house before heading farther into the woods. Hearing metal scrape against wood, she turned to see the old man had raised up a hatchet and was coming towards her.

She drew her weapon and shouted "Stop!" When he didn't listen, she put two bullets in his chest.

He staggered backward and lowered the hatchet, but it didn't slip from his fingers. He growled and hurled the weapon at her. She shrieked and ducked so the hatchet went over her head and sunk into the wall behind her. She shot the man between the eyes, and he slumped to the ground.

She let her heart slow before unhooking the radio on her belt. She hadn't wanted to use it before Ashley was found, but this bore reporting. Claire turned a knob on the device and waited before speaking. "Hunnigan, this is Redfield, come in. Over."

There was static then the voice of Ingrid Hunnigan, one of the few Secret Service members Claire didn't openly despise, responded. "Claire? This is Hunnigan. What is it?"

"I was just attacked," Claire said, and described what had happened.

"Carry on ahead then. Keep up with the reports and of course let us know if you find Graham's daughter."

"You're not sending backup?"

"Negative. A lot of our other leads are turning up similar stuff. Be cautious and fall back if it turns out to be something you can't handle or if you confirm she's not there. Over and out."

Something told Claire that Ashley was in fact here, but she couldn't say what. She inspected the dead man's body, and could find nothing overtly wrong with him. He carried a wind-up watch in his pocket and a few coins, but no prescription drugs that might account for his violence.

When she went back out onto the porch, she was surprised to see the police car coming down the path. "Must've heard the gunshots," she muttered, planning to tell them the house was empty and that she'd shot a rat.

The car broke through the rickety fence and came speeding towards the house. Through the blood smears on the window, she could see the man driving was not one of the cops. She dove off the porch as the car crashed into it, splintering the dry wood and caving in the front of the house.

She picked herself up and brushed leaves and dirt from her jeans. The driver had climbed through the car window, heedless of the broken glass and splintered wood. He was a big man, younger than the one she had killed but just as ashen-faced. He growled and came lumbering toward her, fists clenched.

Her bullet hit him in the cheek and he staggered while holding the bloody ruin that had been the right side of his face. He pulled his hand away and looked at the dark blood covering it as if confused. When he looked at her, there was no pain on his remaining features, only anger. The second bullet she fired hit him between the eyes and wiped the expression from his face before he sank to his knees and fell over.

-No drug does that,- she thought, thinking about the zombies in Raccoon City despite the clear differences between them and these men. What they were and how they came to be she couldn't guess, but had a feeling she'd soon find out.

To that end she searched the ruined police vehicle, and while she didn't find the bodies of her escorts, she did find some spare magazines that fit her gun.

There was a wooden sign indicating a town lay farther down the path, but she decided the smartest angle of approach was through the woods. Not knowing what she would find there, and unsure if she had enough bullets to deal with it, she went back into the house and retrieved the old man's hatchet before setting off.

The dull red vest and blue jeans she wore stood out more than she liked as she went through the gray woods, but there was little she could do about it except try not to make too much noise in the dry leaves that littered the forest floor.

The village might have been beautiful once, but the quaint little homes had been left to rot and ruin, being shoddily repaired here and there with what looked like materials scavenged from a dump. The villagers themselves were as gray as their homes. They went about their normal daily routines, only through her binoculars, Claire could see something wasn't right.

Their clothes were filthy and their arms and hands were covered in cuts and scrapes. Not feeling pain likely made a person less careful, Claire theorized. Some seemed to be preforming tasks for the mere sake of something to do, as in the case of one woman who was moving a pile of manure slightly to the left, one pitchfork full at a time.

If that hadn't been enough to tell her something was wrong, the pile of burning tires in the town square topped with the body of a policeman did. She couldn't tell if it was one of the two she had come with, but didn't think it mattered.

-Could she be here? Are these people the kidnapping type?- Claire didn't want to think about what such people would do to a girl like Ashley, and she needed a closer look at them without alerting the entire village to her presence.

After watching the village for a long time she made her way through the woods to the north side of the village square where there was a large house, the back of which was situated near a steep bank. When it seemed as though no eyes were facing her direction, she moved to the house, where she pressed up against the wall to peer through a window.

It was unoccupied, and something on the kitchen table caught her eye. It was a manilla folder, crisp and new against its bleak background. The window was fixed, and didn't open, but further inspection of the building led her to a small woodshed built into the back that allowed access to the home's interior. There were only a few dry logs to step over, and many large bones.

Inside, she picked up the folder and examined a piece of paper it contained. It was a memo written in Spanish on a typewriter. It read The girl is held at the church. Rally there should the bell toll. Beware intruders.

Claire's chest swelled and adrenaline began to make her limbs feel light. Ashley was here, all she had to do was find the church and secure her. -And then I can say goodbye,- Claire thought, thinking it doubtful she'd be reassigned as Ashley's bodyguard again, even if she did rescue her single handed.

The front door slammed open and a man barged in like an angry drunk. She let the folder flop into the table and saw a dozen angry, leering faces in the window.

"You shouldn't be here," said the man, who was walking slowly into the room. He was going bald and what greasy strands of hair he had left were dangling in front of his face.

"What are you?" Claire asked, or thought she did, as her Spanish was less reliable when being threatened with murder.

The man's face contorted into an exaggerated sneer and he lunged at her. She shot him in the neck and face and he fell, but an accompanying crash from the window made her retreat several steps. The villagers were clamoring through the window while more came in through the door.

Firing more shots, she ran up a set of creaking wooden stairs and slammed shut the door at the top shut. She then dropped the wooden latch and hoped it was stronger than it looked.

She didn't have the ammo to kill them all, and they were wasting no time in trying to force open the door, so she threw her body against it and tried to think of an escape plan. When the blade of an ax broke the wood next to her ear she got away from the door and found herself preferring zombies. They stank and were creepy, but they at least respected a locked door.

The ax blade disappeared, then reappeared, taking more of the door with it. She could hear the shouts and snarls from the stairway, and decided her only option was to escape through a window.

She threw a wooden table in front of the door, and used a chair to smash out a window so she could climb out into the roof. When the door broke in, she jumped to the roof of an adjacent building, thinking she could hold them off better that way.

Claire held her gun up and prepared to shoot anyone who tried to leap the gap over to her, thinking after a few ventilated skulls and broken bones they'd get the hint and back off, leaving her more time to plan an escape.

The tops of two ladders thudded against the building, and as rocks, boards, and farm tools came sailing through the air at her, she thought her plan might simply have to be run like hell into the woods.

After shooting two men who tried to jump to her roof, she ran to the ladders and pushed them off with a twisting motion, sending the villagers that had been climbing them crashing into the packed dirt bellow.

Five men had made their way onto the roof with her. She killed three with shots to the head but the remaining two slipped in close. Claire ducked under the clutches of the smallest, and drove her shoulder into his hip. He fell, while the other was able to trap her in a bear hug.

"Let go!" she shouted, kicking her legs and trying not to drop her gun. The man, a tall, sallow skinned youth, squeezed her and laughed. It was getting harder to draw breath, and more villagers had climbed onto the roof with her. Praying she wouldn't put a bullet in her leg, she fired her gun into the man, hitting him the knee and causing him to stoop. He didn't let go of her, but she was able to duck and shove him backward, sending herself back as well.

She lost her balance and fell off the roof. Instead of hearing the back of her head crack open, she heard the crunching of wet hay.

She jumped out of the small hay cart, intending to make a run for it and call Hunnigan from the woods. When she looked to the trees, she saw they were lousy with villagers carrying sharp farming tools and makeshift weapons.

Over the course of her short career, Claire had close contact with some truly terrifying things, and had looked death in the eye on a number of occasions, but she'd never come so close to urinating in fear as she did when the sound of a chainsaw filled the air like a thousand insane bees freshly set loose from Hell.

Eyes wide, face white, Claire turned to see a large man in dirty overalls, wearing a burlap bag on his head and holding up a screaming chainsaw. When the villagers around him began to cheer and howl, she felt like she would vomit.

Numbly, her hand fell to the radio. She intended for her last words would be the ones telling Hunnigan that Ashley Graham was at a church north of the village. The device was at her mouth when the sound of bells pierced the air, making the chainsaw sound dull and distant.

-I didn't know people heard church bells before they died,- Claire thought, now looking for a white light even though she thought there'd be a bit of blood first. When the villagers looked to the top of the hill and started to plod in that direction, she remembered the note she'd found.

She let out a breath that was almost a sob as the villagers started their exodus. Some dropped their weapons and many uttered phrases she didn't understand. She kept still, watching the ones in the woods alter their course, fearing any motion from her would remind them she was alive.

Claire didn't move until they were all out of sight. The chainsaw had become a low grumble, and her head snapped back around when it buzzed back to life. The man in the burlap bag stood with the saw held low, and made the machine buzz and spit a plume of blue-gray smoke.

She put a fresh magazine in her gun and took aim at the chainsaw man. "One guy left. I have enough bullets for that," she said.

Chapter Three.

Four bullets hit the chainsaw wielding man in the chest while two hit him in the face, leaving dark stains on his clothes and burlap sack he wore over his head. He let out a growl, drown out by the roar of the chainsaw, and came jogging towards Claire, who fired three more times before running away from the hay cart.

He was definitely something special, she could tell, and her initial good feelings from seeing the other villagers leave diminished somewhat as he showed no signs of realizing he'd been shot as he chased her. He wasn't quick, but he was steady, and seemed like he was driving her towards some kind of trap. She began to wonder, as she shot him twice more, how many of her bullets could he take?

She ran near the crumbling stone rim of a well that set next to a dilapidated chicken coop, and had an idea; she only needed one more ingredient to make it work, looked around for it as she kept her distance from the chainsaw maniac. He showed he could put on short bursts of speed, keeping her focused on him rather than what she needed, and he was getting better at forcing her into corners.

Finally, Claire saw what she was looking for hanging on the side of a shed next to a simple blacksmith's forge. It was a rusty length of chain, likely hung there to get repaired at some point. The chainsaw man was between it and her, so she darted around him, nearly getting bit by his blade, and snagged the chain before dancing away just in time to avoid having her spine cut.

She ran back to the well and put it between her and her enemy. She moved around it, keeping close to the edge, trying to goad him into attacking her over it. When he struck, she jumped back and looped the chain over his chainsaw and pulled. She'd been hoping to disarm him, but was more fortunate. Having a higher center of gravity, Claire was able to pull him off balance, and he fell headfirst into the well after his chainsaw. While she couldn't see him down in the dark, the sound of the saw sputtering to a stop satisfied her that he was no longer a problem.

Letting out a long sigh, she leaned against a post and caught her breath. It was later in the day than she'd thought. Thunder clouds, dark with rain were massing in the east, and they made her think of Ashley, who liked the occasional rainy day. She took out her radio. "Hunnigan, do you read?"

"Copy," said Hunnigan over the radio. "What's your status?"

"I've got reason to believe she's is here in a church north of the town. I was just attacked by a village full of the things I reported earlier, and I think they're all headed to the church now."

There was silence on the other end, broken by static and distant voices. Hunnigan was saying something to someone behind her. "Claire," she said, after nearly a minute.

"Yes."

"We'll send a chopper after you've secured the president's daughter. Hurry and get to that church."

She wondered if the full transmission had come through. "Repeat that," Claire said. "It sounded like you wanted me to do the extraction solo."

"Roger that," Hunnigan said. "You're going to have to sneak her out. If we sent a whole team in, it's possible they would kill the girl before letting her go."

Wondering if her brother wasn't standing behind Hunnigan, she replied that she'd call again once she had the girl. She retied her ponytail and wiped her forehead clean of sweat before moving up the hill, thinking this was a rather reckless way to run a rescue operation. She could see the the top of the church's steeple above the trees, maybe half a mile off, and busied her mind with keeping alert for more villagers.

At the top of the hill was a farm, which she found as poorly kept as the village had been, with hungry, un-milked cows and a few live chickens clucking about the bodies of dead ones.

She gave the barns and coops cursory examinations, hoping to find something useful, maybe another memo. What she really wanted was bullets, and was hopeful she'd find some, as there were things left lying around she saw that didn't look they belonged in a rural farm, and had more than likely come from unfortunate, unwary visitors.

Claire saved the large barn for last. It was white, with peeling paint and a large front door. The wooden floor was covered in a carpet of brown hay and after taking three steps inside, she felt her feet yanked from beneath her and hoisted up. She shouted and tried to grab the floor, meanwhile her pistol, hatchet, knife, and radio fell past her head, out of reach.

Twirling slowly, she swore and tried to untie herself.

"Well, well," said a familiar voice. "This looks familiar. Where have I seen it before?"

"Ada!" Claire shouted, as she twisted counter clockwise in time to see the hem of a long red dress flutter outside her range of vision.

Her heart was pounding again as a pair of soft hands grabbed her shoulders from behind, stopping her from twisting. "I knew you'd end up like this if you struck out on your own," Ada said. "I was hoping you'd go back to college, get a job as a barista or something."

"What's going on around here?" Claire asked.

Ada turned her around and kissed her. Claire returned it, briefly, but remembered being dumped on Rockfort Island and shook her head. "Stop that," she said. "You can't just do that."

"I can do whatever I want," Ada said. "You're like a babe in the woods. And is that any way to thank me?"

"Thank you for what? I'm still hanging upside down."

Ada laughed an tugged at the bottom of Claire's shirt. She felt Ada's lips on her naval and the tips of her fingers touch the bottom of her breasts. "Who do you think rang that bell?" Ada said.

"You? The ch...what's...Ada, please, I'm on an important mission..."

"To save the president's daughter, yes, I know. I've got my own mission that doesn't involve her, but I'm only about eight steps ahead of you and the kidnappers."

Her shirt had come over breasts, and Ada helped slip her bra down as well. Claire felt her old lover's mouth close over her nipple and begin to suck. It tingled, and she was annoyed to feel herself moisten. "Damn it, Ada, I don't have time for this crap," she said.

Her fists clenched and she considered punching Ada in the stomach, or some place more delicate, but couldn't bring herself to do it. -She dumps me in a jealous fit, and here she is molesting me while I hang upside down,- Claire thought.

Ada's smell brought back indistinct memories, ones involving sex while the bodies of monsters freshly slain lie motionless in another room, perhaps preparing to rise again or be joined by more.

Ada's tongue ran the length of Claire's naval, and just as she was beginning to let herself enjoy it, Ada stepped backward. "For once you're right; we don't have time for this," Ada said. She picked up Claire's knife and pressed the cold handle into her palm.

"The girl is still at the church but won't be for long" Ada said. "The ganados, the villagers, have been been infested with a parasite. Shoot for the head and chest to kill it."

"Why did they kidnap Ashley?" Claire asked, bending at her waist to cut the rope that held her. "How did they become infected?"

"You're on your own with that," Ada said. "Go save your...friend. Maybe the three of us can get together some time."

Claire got the knife through the rope, and she fell to the floor with a thump. She scrambled to her feet and ran outside, but Ada was gone. Claire looked to see where she'd went but there was no trace of her. Cursing, she continued on towards the church, trying to wipe the storm of thoughts and emotions save for the desire to find and keep Ashley safe.

***

On the roof of the barn, Ada Wong watched Claire make her way towards the church. She was careful to not be seen and patted the grappling gun fixed to her hip with affection, it being one of the better investments she'd made in a while.

She could taste Claire in her mouth still and it made her fists clench. She'd picked the girl up in Raccoon City to be used as a sex toy, something to be thrown away when it was over. -But I didn't throw her away,- she thought, now pursing her lips. -No, I let her get close. Taught her things. Then I threw her away when she made eyes at some boy...a dead boy, now.-

She wondered if the rumors were true about Claire and the president's daughter. It would serve her right, as such a thing could end one way, badly.

That thought made her want to run after Claire and tell her everything she knew, beg her forgiveness even, but then she remembered their missions weren't exactly compatible, nor were their worldviews. Ada had been hired by two competing groups to steal a sample of the parasite responsible for the ganado. She didn't know anything about one of the groups, but the second she knew was led by Alexia Ashford and Albert Wesker, two of Claire's least favorite people. Ada could imagine Claire's words as clear as if they were being spoken now. "Ada, this thing is dangerous. God knows what these people will do with it. Don't you remember Raccoon City?"

Ada knew it was only a matter of time before the entire world looked like Raccoon City, and she didn't think the U.S. government was any better than Umbrella in that regard. If she could get rich off a world bent on killing itself, why shouldn't she? That Claire couldn't see the logic behind this was a reason they couldn't be together, she'd reasoned many, many times, often while tossing in her bed.

The receiver in her ear crackled to life, delivering Wesker's machine-like voice. "Report."

"Heavy ganado activity," she said. "Someone else has also arrived, an American agent, possibly BSAA or part of a joint op."

"Just one?"

"One that I've seen. Appears to be here for the girl."

"Then it's of no concern to us. Retrieve the necessary samples as planned."

"What about Krauser?"

"She's not your concern," Wesker said, and the line went silent.

Ada swore. In addition to bringing up old feelings, Claire's presence raised some new ones, namely worry. Ada liked that feeling least of all. She told herself Claire was more than capable of handling herself, and appeared to have received some training from whoever she now worked for, probably the U.S. government. She could deal with Las Plagas, at least the ones guarding the girl.

Jacqueline Krauser was another matter. Ada wasn't sure what Krauser was, but it wasn't human. She'd infiltrated Los Illuminados, the group behind the parasite, and kidnapped the American president's daughter to secure her position with the group's leader. Wesker had hired Ada as insurance, essentially, as he didn't completely trust Krauser for whatever reason. Ada didn't care, she only knew Krauser was someone who would kill Claire if they crossed paths.

-And mission or no mission, I'm not about to let that happen,- Ada thought.

Chapter Four.

The clouds were threatening rain. -Should've brought an umbrella,- Claire thought. -Maybe a white one with red stripes. Or a red one with white stripes.-

As she walked, the vegetation under her feet became thicker and the ground wetter. The houses were scattered and even more ramshackle than the ones she'd passed by earlier, some being fire-gutted shells. Claire poked her head inside a few and saw they were being used as warehouses for sharp tools and dynamite. She considered taking some of the explosives with her, but after inspecting a box thought better of it.

The trees around the houses were leafless and the ground squished beneath her boots. The air held the faint smell of sewage and she couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched. One of the houses she spotted had a large padlock and chain on the door.

"Don't want me in there, huh? Well, we'll see about that," she said. Lock picking had once been a hobby of hers, but then she'd learned how to break in a door and found it to be much faster. It was even faster now, and the rotting wood gave way easily under the force of her shoulder.

It was dark inside, so she drew her gun and turned the switch on the small, powerful flashlight attached to the bottom of the barrel. Looking around she felt a quiet sense of outrage that such a nice house had been left to ruin. There were carpets on the floors, paintings on the walls, and ornate furniture in the rooms. All these things were covered in grime and dirt, likely from the hole in the roof that was never repaired. Some of the windows had been broken and a sloppy job done of boarding them up.

She could see nothing worth protecting with a lock, but when she was about to leave something bumped against the wall from the living room. She stood by the door and scanned the room with her flashlight, then jumped as the wall next to her vibrated with another thud.

Claire saw that a cabinet had been slid in front of an unobtrusive door to her left. In her attempt to push the cabinet off to the side, it fell over with a crash, making her certain she'd alerted every villager within a mile to her location.

The door thumped again and she opened it, ready to shoot what was behind it. When she saw a pale, writhing figure with blond hair she nearly pulled the trigger, but the silver strip of duct tape over the mouth made her pull the gun up.

The nude blond woman, feet bound together, hands behind her back, hopped into the living room and fell to the floor where she curled up and tried to get her hands in front of her by pulled them over her feet. She didn't seem flexible enough, however, and instead looked up at Claire with wide, green eyes.

"Mmm!" she said, then screamed as Claire tore the duct tape from her mouth. She looked like she might unleash a wave of curse words, but instead pursed her lips while Claire knelt and drew her knife.

"Are you okay?" Claire asked.

"I'm fine," the woman said, glaring at Claire. "Do I know you?"

Claire looked at the woman's face and wondered if she did. Whoever she was, she'd once been pretty, but even the obvious mistreatment she'd recently suffered didn't account for the look in her eyes. It reminded Claire of the zombies she'd encountered, only with a malevolent intelligence behind them. "I don't think we're met," Claire said.

"I've seen you somewhere before," the woman said. "Were you...never mind, damn it, get me loose!"

Claire frowned, not liking this woman at all for some reason. "Not until I know who you are," she said.

The woman's glare intensified, but finally her eyes rolled in annoyance. "My name is Annette," she said.

"What are you doing here, Annette," Claire said. "Don't tell me you're a tourist."

"I'm a tourist," Annette said, a slight smile bending her frown.

"And a liar," Claire said, standing up. "Fine, I'll come back for you if I have time, but I'm on an important mission."

She was at the door when Annette shouted. "Please! Don't go, I am a tourist! Th-they killed my husband, William and took my daughter, Sherry!"

It was Claire's turn to smile and roll her eyes. -Fine, let her lie,- Claire thought, returning to cut the woman's bonds.

Once free, she stood and rubbed her wrists before trying in vain to covering herself. "I think my clothes are in there," she said, walking past Claire, who followed.

"I don't believe you're a tourist," Claire said, although there was now something definitely familiar about the woman. Claire was sure she'd never actually met her, but had she heard of her? -I know three people named Annette, and she's definitely not one of them,- Claire thought.

Annette led her into a room that was much dryer than the rest of the house and seemed to be used as some kind of cache. Shelves were stocked with canned goods and tools while there were bags of grain and flour resting on a table. Annette found her clothes in a box and put them on while Claire kept her gun ready in case Annette drew one of her own.

"Oh, come on," Claire said, looking at Annette once she was dressed. Khaki pants, a dirty black tank top, topped with a filthy white lab coat completed the ensemble. "Really, who are you?"

Annette crossed her arms. "Doctors can't go on vacation?"

"If I didn't have more important things to worry about I wouldn't let this go," Claire said. "But like I said, I can't be bothered with you. You can come along if you keep quiet and don't get in my way."

Annette snorted. "Excuse me but I have no intention of going anywhere with you. Thank you for rescuing me, however. Good bye."

She gave a curt nod and went to leave. Halfway down the tiny hall that led to the living room, the darkness beyond her seemed to come forward. She retreated with a shriek and stood away from Claire.

It was unfathomable how she didn't hear the man come in. He was easily seven feet tall, bald headed with a wide body and a dusty blue trench coat which somewhat camouflaged his impressive black beard. He was looking directly at Claire who aimed her gun at his head.

"Can I help you?" she said.

"That's Bitores Mendez," Annette said, a laugh dancing at the edge of her voice. "He's a controller; he's one of them."

-Controller? Of the parasites?- Claire thought, now sure Annette was no tourist.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Mendez," Claire said in Spanish, keeping her gun up. "I have a few questions if you don't mind."

The man's lips curled into a grimace beneath his beard. "You are not welcome here," he said in English.

"Yeah, I was getting some strong hints there," she said in English, happy at least one of her enemies spoke it. "I'm sure you know I'm here to pick up a friend of mine, so if you let me just take her, I'll be on my way."

Mendez stepped forward, now letting his weight shake the floor. He didn't look like he was about to stop, so Claire shot him. His hand came up and the bullet struck the back of his wrist. Claire fired at his leg and ran forward, thinking to hit him with a low shoulder tackle, knock him off balance, and run past him.

It was like hitting a tree trunk. Before she could pull away and make a run for it, something heavy came down on the back of her neck making her see a white flash of light, then nothing.

Chapter Five.

Something was pinching the side of her neck while something else held her by the hair. She moaned more out of confusion than pain, and struggled to regain full consciousness.

"Soon, you will be one of us," a voice said. "And you will know peace."

Under her, the floor was hard and covered in a thin layer of dry dirt. From the corner of her eye she saw Annette's unconscious form being held in a siting position by a man while another held a syringe to her neck. Claire didn't see him press the plunger, as he body was suddenly wracked with pain, making her lose consciousness.

When she woke, it was hard to move and her neck and wrists were sore. It felt like she had no clothes on, and seeing Annette in front of her, her own situation became clear.

Annette had put in a stockade a few inches away so that if they stretched their necks, their faces could touch. Claire could also see the other woman was unconscious and had her clothes removed. "Annette," Claire said, bumping the top of her head against the other woman's cheek. "Annette, wake up."

Annette picked her head up. "Ugh," she said. "Not again..."

She could hear men moving behind her, chuckling and muttering to each other. Claire turned her head as much as she was able and saw at least three villagers, or ganado as Ada had labeled them. Two went behind Annette; one was grinning while the other seemed angry.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!" Claire shouted.

"They're going to rape us," Annette said, dryly. "With luck, these ones will kill us when they're done and not let the others have a turn."

"Oh hell no," Claire said, kicking backward. She felt a hand clasp around her leg and heard someone chuckle as she sensed a presence between her legs. "No, damn it, no!" she shouted.

"They won't listen," Annette said, a villager moving behind her as well. Claire could see him concentrating on something as she felt cool, dry hands roughly groping her own buttocks. "They're nearly mindless, like zombies. They have some higher brain functions, but are ruled by baser instincts. Violence and sex, for example."

"Was that in the tourist brochure?" Claire asked, catching the reference to zombies. "Damn it, no!"

She felt something that wasn't the villager's finger touch her buttocks, then rub against the outside of her womanhood. She jerked her wrists hard enough to bruise, and just as she felt something rubbery and warm press into her, the crash of a gun going off multiple times made her body jolt and her ears ring.

She didn't hear the bodies hit the floor, but there was nothing touching her now, and she could no longer see the villagers that had been behind Annette, who was wincing from the sound of gunfire in a small space.

"Jackpot," said a voice that reminded Claire of a pirate. There was the flash and artificial click of a digital camera, followed by "Oh, nice," then more flashes and clicks. Blinded by the light, Claire couldn't see who the pervert was, but was suddenly free of the stockade.

Her back screamed at her for straightening too fast, but she ignored it and stepped away, towards the wall. Their savior and pornographer was a short man, hunched over, wearing a long coat and a hood, with scarf across his face. "Yeah, that'll do," he said, stuffing the camera into his coat.

Claire balled up her fists, but remembered the pervert had a gun somewhere on him.

"Sorry about that, ladies, but I don't work for free, and you don't look like you've got any money, so I thought a bit of photography was in order," he said.

Claire blinked and waited, as if there was someone who would explain this absurdity. "Just...tell me why I shouldn't beat you to a pulp right now," she said.

He pulled aside his coat, showing that most of his weight was made up of ammunition and firearms. "Come on, then," he said. "No need to be unfriendly; I think we can help each other. I know where your clothes and irons are, I do."

"Where?" Claire said, not wanting to try and rescue Ashley in her birthday suit.

"Come on then, didn't I just say I don't work for free? You'll have to give me something in return."

He was standing in a way that to the untrained eye looked fairly obtuse, but Claire sensed he could be dangerous from the way his eyes darted between her and Annette. He'd freed them, however, so it was likely he'd let them leave if they wanted. She needed her gear, though.

"Like you said, we don't have any money," Claire said, holding out her hands. "So what do you want?"

"Not much," said the man. "Maybe just some photos of some girl-on-girl action?"

Annette's hand slapped against her forehead. "I'll go naked, thanks," she said. "You're on you own."

"Now, now," said the man. "I deal in a wide variety of wares and I noticed you came light in armaments."

"So you'll give us weapons in exchange for dirty photographs?" Claire asked.

"Private distribution only," he said, clearly thinking that made it sound more palatable. Their disgust was clear, and so he added "Means yer faces won't be on the, ah, what do they call it? Interweb, or what have you."

"I doubt that," Claire said. "Seems like a steep price for my own stuff."

"Oh, I can sell you better items than I got on me," he said. "Do business with me now, I'll leave, maybe we'll see each other later and I'll have some better wares. You'll have to earn 'em, though."

Claire was shaking her head, but noticed Annette was now stroking her chin.

"They're better armed than you think," Annette said to Claire. "I know you're here for the president's daughter...I saw her, earlier, near a church. You'll need more weapons than you brought in case your meeting with Mendez hadn't made that clear."

Claire sighed. "Alright, fine, but once we're done, my clothes, gun, and radio better be coughed up in a hurry or else," she said, walking over to Annette.

Annette didn't make eye contact but stepped into Claire's meager embrace. Her skin was cold, not like the villager's, but noticeable. "Yeah, that's it," the man said, his camera out. "Give her a hug, pull her in nice and close. There's a kiss..."

"No talking," Claire said, shooting him glare as he snapped a photo. "And don't look at me," she whispered to Annette.

"Ooh, yeah, hot...sorry," said the pervert.

She pressed her lips into Annette's, who slipped her tongue in. Claire gripped the other woman's buttocks and squeezed them. Her flesh yielded to her fingers in a way Claire hadn't experienced before. Ada's ass had been like sprung steel, while Ashley's had the pleasant bounce of youth. Annette's was pliant and a little bony, but not terrible.

She felt Annette's hands touch her breasts like she knew what she was doing. When she felt herself become wet, she backed away. "There, plenty to amuse yourself with later," Claire said. "Now, my things."

The man tossed her a gun, her own, which she caught, and then went to a cardboard box that had been covered in empty grain sacks. He pulled it out and opened it, showing Claire the rest of her gear.

Claire thought about shooting him, but it didn't feel right, so she got dressed alongside Annette.

"I'll consider this a sample," said the pervert. "Next time I come sellin' I'll be needin' a bit more if yer gonna be buyin'."

"It was my...never mind," Claire said, now dressed. "Just who are you anyway?"

"A humble merchant," he said. "Just trying to get by in trying times. The scenery around here's gone to pot you know, tourism is lousy."

Not knowing what to say, she shook her head slowly and turned to leave, hoping to radio Hunnigan and give her an edited version of recent events. "Annette?" she said, seeing that the other woman was already gone.

"Oh, she stepped out while you were talking," the merchant said. "You can trade me some solo action later if you don't find her."

Claire left the tiny building amidst a flurry of muttered curses, having wanted to ask Annette what the injections had been about. Her neck hurt from the stockade, and she was not entirely sure the syringes had been real. When she got outside there was no sign of Annette, no telling where she now was, and it was half an hour from sunset.

Chapter Six.

Watching the sheet of cloud that covered the sky and carried a faint glow, she didn't think it was as late in the day as she'd guessed. Rubbing her neck, she wished Annette hadn't run off so she could ask her about the half-memory she had from before regaining consciousness the last time. Had they injected her with something? It seemed like it.

Claire had contacted Hunnigan, told her most of what happened, and was again told to continue her mission. She'd secure Ashley, then radio for a helicopter pickup. Claire felt an sense of urgency now, having met the sort of people who'd taken the girl. Hunnigan had mentioned no demands had yet been made, leaving Claire to wonder what they could possibly want.

Still not knowing where she was, she decided to search for the village where she could get her bearings on the church. It seemed the villager's had discovered the bell was a false alarm, and they were now on patrol, making their way up and down the wagon paths and animal trails in small packs and staffing makeshift roadblocks.

Claire avoided them by staying off the roads and stalking through the forest. She had to go slow, not only to be quiet, but because of the rusty bear traps and other surprises she noticed had been scattered amongst the trees.

She had recovered from Mendez's attack and being held in the stockade, but one feeling she could not seem to shake was the arousal Annette had sparked in her. The feeling had little to do with the woman herself, and it made focusing on the situation at hand difficult. Twice she considered relieving herself, but took a deep breath and carried on instead.

When she found the village, she saw it had been left deserted save for two men stationed outside the road on the high side. She saw them before they saw her, and ducked behind a pile of rocks and brush that had been piled to the side of the road. She almost stepped in another bear trap, but seeing it gave her an idea.

Remembering what Annette said about the villager's reduced mental capacity, she took off her vest, shirt, and bra, then made sure the bear trap wasn't chained to anything and could be picked up by a metal tab used to move it without setting it off.

Thinking Ada would appreciate this, Claire stepped out from behind the debris pile and waved at the two villagers. "Oh boys," she said, picturing Ada snickering behind the log pile, or more likely standing by her side. The two men looked at each other, then returned eager looks in her direction. Not wanting them to run off and get backup, she licked her fingers and tweaked the nipple on her left breast. She topped the display by licking her lips while her mouth was open wide in an O shape.

They took the bait and came towards her. She let them close the distance by half, then backed herself behind the debris pile, being careful not to step on the trap. She picked it up, and waited.

She tossed it into the face of the first one to come around, a tubby man losing his hair in the back. She threw the trap into his face and it closed around his head, making him snarl. He was quickly shoved into his companion, a slender man with a patchy beard, and the two fell. Claire took her hatchet and finished them both before they could rise.

Shirtless and covered in blood, she felt a rush of adrenaline and had to fight the urge to masturbate. -What's gotten into me?- she thought, now certain she had not imaged the syringe.

She wiped the blood from her chest using a strip of cloth she tore from a dead ganado's clothing, and got dressed. The village was still deserted, and she took the time to search it, finding two magazines for her gun and a hand grenade, objects likely pilfered from...she had no idea who. Claire was about to make her way up the hill on the other side towards the farm, when something on one of the buildings caught her eye.

It was to the south of a high watch tower, a large steel door that stood out from the other wooden ones. Painted on the front was a symbol that reminded her of the one the medical profession had adopted: A snake coiling around a staff. This design was more abstract, and reminded her more of a weather vane, but she decided the building itself bore further investigation.

The door didn't budge, but she smiled on learning the boards over the windows came off easily. She climbed through and saw the inside of the building was kept up better than the others, and after a thorough search she located a trap door in the back that led down to a rocky tunnel, lit by oil lamps hung from the ceiling.

In a wide part of the tunnel where water pooled into the floor were three ganado women, each gray skinned and snarling as they fought over a dark strip of meat. Claire shot them; killing two with well placed head shots, while the third took rounds to her neck and chest. She staggered back, gurgling, and Claire was about to fire again when the woman's head began to shake. Claire thought she was about to vomit, but instead her head erupted.

What came from between her shoulders was a worm as thick as the woman's neck had been. It twisted and flailed, while the woman's body took rigid steps forward. The worm possessed a long, whip appendage, which it sent around in circles. Claire heard it swish through the air and caught a glint of white from the tip. -A bone blade,- she thought, backing up and firing at the fleshy part of the worm at the base of the woman's shoulders.

Letting out a breath, Claire was able to put three shots into the meatiest part of the creature. It burst on the third shot and deflated like a balloon, the woman sunk to her knees and flopping forward into the water. Claire stood for a moment, expecting horrors to come out of the other two she'd killed, but they didn't.

She watched them for a while to be sure, and didn't take her eyes off the bodies until she was past. She'd been envisioning something much smaller when Ada told her they were infested with parasites. -Oh God,- she thought. -What's if that's what they injected me with...it's eggs or something...have to find Annette, or Ada. No, find Ashley before they infect her, too, if they haven't already.-

The tunnel stretched on for much longer than Claire had been expecting, and she encountered more open areas with ganado, some who had come running upon hearing the shots she fired. In the closed space, she handled them without difficulty, and only once did another worm spring from a wounded one. Something about them made her think of a guerrilla army, and she expected to come across a cache of guns and ammo at any moment. She didn't, but her disappointment was curbed by the thought that they wouldn't be using guns against her if they had none to use.

Just as she started to consider turning back, the tunnel sloped upward before coming to a spot where a ladder rose up twenty or so feet. She saw wiring had been strung along the rock ceiling, powering tiny bulbs. She climbed up the ladder, where the pervert was leaning against the wall, next to some crates. In the light she could see that his face was a sickly gray color. and his eyes bloodshot.

"Howdy," he said. "Got something that might interest ye."

"Not likely," Claire said, turning her head when he opened his coat. Instead of his penis, he showed off a sleek hunting rifle. A Remington from the look of it, possibly a .308, with a scope. The wood parts caught the light just so, and Claire felt the sense of arousal she'd forgotten about when dealing with the worm-headed woman peak up again.

"Nice gun," she said. "But I'm all set." She knew she wasn't, but didn't feel like paying his price.

"Well, if you change your mind in the next five or so minutes, I'll be right here."

She went past him, stealing last a glance at the gun, and came to thin, poorly made door that opened into a shack that had lost most of the paneling in its walls. Beyond there was a hill dotted with tombstones leading up to a tall, stately church. "Finally," she said, her excitement being tempered when she saw movement amongst the graves. Keeping low, she crept behind what little remained of the shack's wall and took out a pair of tiny field binoculars. Through them she saw better than a dozen ganado, and a familiar figure sitting on the church steps that made her curse.

The ganado she had sent down a well earlier had found his way out, and a new chainsaw. He sat casually, one elbow resting on a knee while he let the saw dangle from his other hand.

The entire churchyard was encircled with a high iron fence, and a group of ganado appeared to be making their rounds behind the church, thus a sneak attack from the rear was deemed impossible by Claire.

She was about to radio Hunnigan and try to convince her to send back up, when she remembered the grenade she'd found in the village. Taking it off her belt, she began to form a plan, but knew it would require that rifle the pervert had. A wry smile crossed her face as she remembered his remark about being there in case she changed her mind. "Bullets better be included," she said, and turned back.

Chapter Seven.

The pervert was rubbing his gray-white hands together, like fly grooming itself.

"Alright," Claire said, keeping her distance from him. "What do you want for the rifle?"

The pervert chuckled. "Takin' of yer clothes would be a start."

His camera came out, dampening the strange feeling of arousal she felt. She took off her vest and set it down, then began rolling up her shirt as though preparing for bed.

"No, no, no," the pervert said. "Sexy like."

Claire moved slower, turning away from the pervert and his camera while arching her back. Casting a sultry glance back at him, she let the garment drop to the ground. "I get bullets, too, right?" she said, turning sideways and unhooking her bra while jutting out her buttocks.

"I might spare a box as a bonus," said the pervert.

Her bra came off and landed on her shirt and vest. "Two boxes," she said, facing him with her hands over her breasts.

He let out a rattling sigh like an indulgent parent, or creepy uncle. "I suppose the gun ain't much good without ammo, eh?."

"No, it isn't," she said, turning back around with a sway in her hips. She kicked off her shoes, and undid the front of her pants. She bent at the waist, bringing her jeans to her ankles while keeping her legs straight, showing off her black underwear.

Claire found that if she didn't look at the man filming her, the excited, jumping feeling beneath her skin rose up and allowed her to move freely, with no inhibition. She teased by pulling the edge of he panties lower, then off completely in one fluid motion that involved a twirl. She was now facing the pervert, completely nude and leaning against the rock wall.

"Well?" she said.

"It's a high end rifle," he said

"I'm worth it."

"No doubt, but I go by supply n' demand, and the demand is a bit high, if I understand the situation correctly."

"Fine," she said, her voice curt. "But what happens next is as far as I go, and you'd better keep quiet while I do it."

"Understood," he said, his gruff voice seemingly cheerful. "You won't hear a peep."

She put her index and middle fingers in her mouth and sucked them, coating them in spit while thinking of Ada. The feeling inside her went from a simmer to a full boil, and she was able to forget where she was, in front of a bizarre man with a camera, her back against the wall of a tunnel dug by monsters. She always felt guilty about fantasies starring Ada Wong, especially if she was with Ashley at the time, but it got the job done better than anything she knew. Claire imagined how Ada's short black hair felt on her face and body. She recalled how Ada tasted when she was wet, how her body was sometimes like a furnace and other times like ice, sucking the heat from Claire.

Claire could imagine it was Ada's fingers touching her, but it was harder to convince herself the rough wall behind her was Ada's naked body, fresh out of shower maybe. All that slowed her down was checking to make sure the pervert wasn't touching himself. He wasn't, and kept his word about not making noise.

Thoughts of Ada were interrupted by the memory of what she'd seen outside, and Claire didn't think she could fake an orgasm well enough to earn her the use of the rifle. -Time for my secret weapon,- she thought, calling up a fantasy she rarely used, one that made her feel doubly guilty.

In her mind, Ada was holding her from behind in her strong arms. When she looked down, there was Ashley, the top half of her face visible above Claire's naval. With Ada's hand on her breast and the other running over her body next to the other girl's free hands, she felt her orgasm clear its final hurdle and come pouring out.

Claire moaned, rubbing herself fast and hard, ignoring the rough rock at her back as it dug her skin. The images in her mind came fast and jumbled. Her legs grew weak and she sunk down as the orgasm ran itself out. After a brief glance at the pervert, she put her clothes back on as fast as she was able.

"Good, good," he said when she was dressed. "Your ending needs a bit 'o work, but I see potential. I think this is yours." He handed her the rifle, and she checked it over before being handed two boxes of bullets.

She was about to grumble over the amount of ammo, but after inspecting the rifle, she saw he hadn't lied about its value. She wasn't sure she would have masturbated for it any other time, but knew it would serve her well now.

"I don't suppose you know anything about what's going on around here?" she asked, loading the weapon.

He chuckled. "The less I know about some things, the better off I am," he said. "I'll tell you this much, you've got about two dozen hostiles between you n' that church, but who yer lookin' for is still inside. She'll be alright for the time bein'; they didn't snatch her so they could eat her, if n' ye catch my drift.

"Do you know why they took her?" she asked.

He shrugged and closed the viewfinder on his camera before tucking into one of his many pockets, his coat rattling from the other items he carried. "None of my business. Now, I don't know if you saw 'im, but there's a fella up there with a bag over his head; got a chainsaw..."

"I saw him," Claire said, looking around the pile of crates near the pervert for a bit of rope or string she could use for her plan. She stepped next to him, having spotted an old strap which would meet her purposes. "I tossed him down a well earlier but he looks fine now."

"Heh, heh," clucked the pervert. "He won't be likin' you much then...That's old Dr. Salvador. Respected man in these parts."

Claire was puzzled, by more than a few things, but decided to ask "That Jason Voorhees wannabe was a doctor?"

"He still performs amputations," the pervert said, chuckling.

"You know even with this rifle, the odds are against me," she said. "You wouldn't want to lose a customer, would you?"

He shrugged and clucked. "You'll be fine," he said. "Plus that rifle's all I brought. I got me a feelin' we'll meet again. Maybe you'll have a friend with ye and we can do some real business." Adjusting his coat, he walked back down the tunnel.

"Not if I can help it," she muttered, watching him leave.

Her skin tingled and as she headed back outside, and a tightness began to coil itself in her stomach. She thought about what the pervert had said, and tried to take heart from it.

Chapter Eight.

Claire used the strap she'd recovered and her one grenade to rig a booby trap at the door of the shack, which she hoped the villagers would be too aggressive to notice. Based on how they had acted before, she felt it was a safe assumption they would trip it and suffer the consequences.

She had just finished setting the grenade in position when she heard a woman screeching something in Spanish. More howls of alarm followed, and there was the grumble of a chainsaw being started.

Claire, rushing now, tried twice to get the grenade set so the pin would pull and it would fall to the floor when a villager caused the strap to pull. Seeing this plan would not work, she hooked the grenade back to her belt and unshouldered the rifle, using the door jam to brace it while she lined up her shots.

Four of her five shots found their marks. She was not used to this type of shooting, and the rifle was a bolt action. She went through another magazine, hitting on three of her five shots, and flipped the rifle back to her shoulder, as there were now about six villagers within fifteen feet of her and still a dozen more behind them.

She drew her pistol and was back in her element. She aimed for their heads and upper bodies, killing each within two or three shots. Those who slipped within the fifteen foot zone, she shot in the legs to fell them and buy time to change magazines.

None of them showed any fear, only anger in their flashing eyes and teeth. They fanned out, making it so her shots would not go through one and hit another. Whether this was a planned tactic or not, she couldn't say, but those who did find themselves behind others began throwing the weapons they carried. Claire ducked the axes, and rocks, but was unable to avoid a piece of wood, which hit her in the leg. Dr. Salvador's chainsaw buzzed louder, and the villagers parted way for him.

Claire pulled the grenade from her belt and was tempted to toss it at the doctor's feet, but instead tossed it over his head into the middle of the crowd that filled in behind him. Before it landed, she stepped back into the tunnel and closed the wooden door, then moved the right to put more rock between her and the impending blast.

There was a bang, and angry screaming. Claire didn't move, and considered moving into the tunnel and using the door as a choke point. She could hear Salvador's chainsaw still, getting closer, and gasped as the blade came through the door, filling the small space with noise and sawdust. When the blade disappeared, the door came crashing apart, and Salvador stormed in, past Claire, thinking she'd run down the tunnel.

She stepped forward, put her gun to his ear, and fired. Blood shot out the other side, and he staggered, falling against the wall where the pervert had been standing. Outside, Claire did her best to step around the shredded bodies left by the grenade, and dispatched a villager who was staggering around holding his bloody ruin of a face. She took the opportunity to refresh her magazine, and seeing how many bullets she had left, hefted her hatchet in her left hand.

There were six villagers left that Claire could see. They came after her with the same zeal the others had, and attacked with the grace of a man playing the role of rapist in a womens' self-defense course. Claire sidestepped their swings and put her hatchet in the back of three heads and used the pistol to kill the rest, not wanting to press her luck in hand-to-hand combat. She'd worked up a sweat, but ran up the hill to the church, not knowing when or if there would be reinforcements, and noticing the feeling of arousal was now creeping back.

Her good mood was spoiled when she heard the chainsaw being revved up behind her. She'd gained much of the hill, and so she unshouldered the rifle, loaded it, and used a gravestone to steady it, wondering if the .308 rounds it fired would put the doctor down for good.

He came storming out of the shack with the chainsaw held high. She managed three rounds into his sack-covered head, soaking it with blood and sending him to his knees. Taking aim again, she saw something strange, and had to look without the scope.

Her bullets had removed some of his skull, and where blood and brains should have been was something gray and writhing, like worms or maggots. Salvador staggered to his feet, shuddered, and revved his chainsaw again, renewing his pursuit.

Not wanting to waste bullets, she put the rifle back over her shoulder and ran, trying to think of a way to disable her enemy. Beyond the gate that surrounded the churchyard were scraggly trees and damp, hilly terrain. She could hide in the woods, she thought, but there was Ashley to consider.

There was an iron gate at the top of the hill, leading to the east, and so Claire drew her pistol and fired at Salvador's legs, making him stumble while she broke for the gate. It led to the edge of a cliff overlooking a lake that reminded her of a mirror. The cliff stretched all the way around Claire's side of the lake, and the villagers had fashioned a dubious wooden walkway of ropes and boards and fixed it to the rock face.

Claire ran over it, and nearly fell into a wide gap not thirty feet in. Falling back on her rear, she was spurred back to her feet by the sound of the chainsaw, which also motivated her to jump the ten or so foot gap. When she hit the other side, she turned, hoping to shoot the doctor if he jumped and send him into the lake.

He came to the edge where Claire had jumped from, and didn't hesitate for a moment. Clair's bullets hit him in the stomach, but didn't stop him. The walkway shook when he landed, and Claire darted forward, throwing her shoulder into his chest and narrowly avoiding having her leg cut by his saw as he pulled it downward.

Dr. Salvador wasn't as unmovable as Mendez had been, and one foot went over the edge. While he struggled to gain his balance, Claire delivered a hard kick to his stomach, sending him the rest of the way.

The sound of the saw falling into silence did not greet her ears, and instead it continued to rattle beneath the lip of the boardwalk. Thinking it had caught on something, she peered over to see that Dr. Salvador was clinging to one of the wooden support struts. He shifted the saw and prepared to climb, so Claire opened fire with her pistol, aiming for the writhing gray worms in his skull.

Blood and parasite flesh spattered over the rocks, and Dr. Salvador changed strategies, taking the saw in one hand and pressing the blade into the wooden support strut, sending sawdust onto his blood soaked sack and making the structure vibrate. Claire ran back as far as she could, going around a bulge in the rock face just in time as the section of platform behind her fell. She wasn't able to see what happened, but heard the saw's buzzing diminish as it fell.

She allowed herself a minute to breath before reloading her weapons, her elation over her victory dampened by her not being able to go back the way she'd come. She followed the wooden path along the cliff until it led down to a sandy area between low scrubby hills and the lake.

Claire unhooked her radio from her belt, and sighed. "Hunnigan, it's Claire. I've got a problem."

There was a pause and some static before Hunnigan's voice came over the device. "What is it, Claire? What's going on?"

She explained roughly how she'd come to be by the lake, leaving out certain details. "Can you tell me the quickest way back to the church?" she asked.

"Let me check the satellite images...you're by the lake, so...ah...Can you cross the lake?"

Claire stamped her foot and tried not swear into the radio. "Let me check," she said.

Climbing to the top of one of the sandy hills, she gained a view of the lake, the nearby beach, and the shore beyond. She first noticed a small boat tied to a dock at the beach close to her. Looking over the lake itself, she saw the water had been disturbed by something, possible one of the dozen or so rootwads that bobbed in it like corks.

She was about to radio Hunnigan when something on one of the rootwads caught her attention. It looked like a woman in a red dress. A look through her binoculars confirmed that's what it was. Claire could see Ada was trying hard to keep from falling into the water, and was looking at the surface of the lake like it might reach out and slap her.

"What the heck..." Claire said, scanning the rest of the lake for an explanation. She got it when the water behind Ada rippled. Something long and dark was moving beneath the water, heading towards Ada from the rear. It bumped the rootwad she was on, nearly sending her into the lake.

The rootwad was bumped again, this time much harder than before. -It knows she's there,- Claire said, now seeing that Ada was looking towards a capsized aluminum boat about fifty yards from her. It was her only means of escape, unless someone came to her rescue.

"Ada!" Claire shouted, jumping and waving her hands, hoping Ada wouldn't try for the boat. "Ada!"

Ada heard her on the third shout, and scanned the beach before seeing her as she jumped and waved.

Her radio crackled. "Claire, are you there?" said Hunnigan. "Can you cross the lake?"

Claire ignored the hail and ran the wooden boat nearby. She jumped in and nearly tripped over a stack of harpoons that had been left in the bottom, along with a metal hook attached to a rope. She didn't think how strange such items were, and instead started the tiny engine in the back and sped towards Ada.

With all the boating experience of a tortoise, Claire rammed the rootwad Ada was perched on, helping her dismount from it and land in the boat. Ada began trying to find something solid enough to push the boat out of its entanglement, but was interrupted by the thing from bellow, which sent the boat up into the air, nearly capsizing it and pitching the women into the water.

They landed hard, and Ada was now near the engine. They were also free of the rootwad, and Ada was able to send the boat tooling away, towards the far shore. Claire could hear the hum of rope dragging against wood, and saw that her leg had become tangled in the coils. The hook was also nowhere in sight.

The rope tightened around her legs and pulled her to the edge of the boat, making her scream in pain and for fear of being dragged into the lake. Thankfully, the creature shifted direction, and the rope slackened. Rather than try to untangle herself, Claire looped some rope around the boat's prow. When the line went taught again, it didn't tighten around her legs, but instead wrenched the boat around hard to the left, and tugged it forward.

"It's dragging us!" Ada shouted. "Cut the rope!"

Claire first tried to cut herself free. The rope was thick, and with the boat being jerked about she nearly cut herself. She shouted when the boat was again yanked around amidst a wall of water that drenched them both. Claire had finally freed herself, but the boat was still being towed by the creature.

"Cut the boat free!" Ada shouted, and Claire went sprawling to the prow where she tried to saw it with the knife. While she was focused, she couldn't help but notice the hill of mud-colored flesh about a hundred feet from her. She could make out a tail, waiving from side to side, sending up waves and pushing the mound forward with them in tow.

Her blade finally made it through the rope, and the animal went underwater. Ada made the motor hum and sent them towards the lake's opposite shore, bouncing over the waves they'd made. Claire noticed they were going much slower now than they had been when pulled by the monster.

Ada cursed. "Grab one of those spears, we can't outdistance it if it comes back."

Claire felt a burst of energy. It was like the old days when they'd been a team. She picked up one of the harpoons and went to the back of the boat, feeling Ada's wet body next to her. She cast a glance at Ada, who was smiling.

The thing surfaced behind the boat, revealing a wide, U-shaped mouth large enough to swallow the boat. It drew closer, and opened wider, revealing a row of small, sharp teeth backed by gray, writhing tentacles that flailed like strings tied to the grill of a fan. The tentacles sprouted from a gray node at the back of the monster's throat. Hoping her javelin throwing lessons in high school had not left her completely, Claire threw one of the harpoons into the gray lump, which was about the size of a large pumpkin.

Red blood mixed with clear fluid spewed from the wound, and the monster dipped under the water. Claire retrieved another spear and waited at the back, looking to see if the thing would resurface and not paying attention to the approaching shore. Ada ran aground hard, pitching Claire over the aft, face first into the shallow water.

She got up sputtering, and trudged to the shore where Ada was standing with her hands on her hips, looking out over the lake. Claire looked back as well, wondering if the animal could crawl onto land. Something caught her chin and turned her head. Her lips were met by cold flesh that tasted of lake water. When she felt the warm tongue probing her, she shoved Ada backward.

"Yeah, right," Claire said. "It's going to take more than a damn lake monster..." she felt Ada's lips again and was angry for not wanting to fight it this time. She felt her hands move around Ada's hips to pull her in, felt herself become tight.

She turned her head towards the lake, hoping to see the monster coming so she'd have an excuse to make Ada stop kissing her neck. "Ada, no," she said. "Don't do this to me...they did something." She could feel herself heating up inside, to the point where she'd have to do something to cool down.

"I know," Ada said. "I can see the mark where it went in." Her lips were clamped over the spot where the needle had pricked her, and Claire felt her toes curl. "If it makes you want me, don't fight it."

"I don't want you," Claire said, touching Ada's cheek and nuzzling her face.

She let out a cry mixed with despair and elation, then went to kissing and nibbling at Ada's neck and face. Her hands moved over her body, peeling the wet cloth away with Ada's help. While she was half mad with lust, Claire was able to steer herself and Ada off the sandy beech and onto the wooden dock, where it was slightly less uncomfortable.

Ada went down first with Claire on top, her red dress doing little to keep hands and lips from her wet, cold skin. Their wet clothes didn't come off easy, but Ada's dress was less problematic than Claire's blue jeans, and so it was Ada who had the opportunity to come first.

Claire picked her head up when the last shudders left Ada's body. "Hurry," she said, her mouth tasting of lake water and Ada. It felt like her insides were on fire, and she only bothered to get her pants down far enough so Ada could reach her, touching her how she needed to be touched. Ada was an expert on Claire this way, and with her eagerness had her coming hard in under a minute.

When it was done, Claire put her clothes back together quickly, spurred on by shame. She retrieved her weapons and made sure her radio worked while watching Ada wring out her dress, which she'd taken completely off.

"So, are we back to..."

"No," Claire nearly screamed. "No. What we had was going nowhere. I'm glad you dumped me. Let's keep it that way."

She saw Ada look at her with something like anger, but on further inspection it appeared to be a self-assured disdain. "Going nowhere, were we? And I suppose you're going somewhere now? Look around you, Claire. The scenery is different, but it's all the same as before. What's the plan? Retire with a government pension, settle down in the suburbs with the president's daughter...Claire, be serious."

Claire felt the urge to slap her, and moved in to do it. "Oh, and I suppose being your sex doll was so much better. And again, why are we talking like I'm the one who left you? This is the way you want it, right?"

The condescending smile on Ada's face made Claire clench her fist and think a slap wasn't good enough. She was drawing closer to Ada now, the tight feeling in her stomach was building. Ada's smile disappeared as she sensed what Claire was about to do.

"Claire, don't. You'll just get hurt."

-Smug bitch,- Claire thought, her inner voice sounding alien to her. The dock was spinning, making her stagger. The tightness in her stomach loosened, but there was a painful burning in her chest and a pleasant one between her legs.

Ada, who'd squared her stance for a fight, now seemed unsure of herself. A look came over her face Claire didn't often see, one of concern. "Claire," she said. "Claire?"

"Ada," Claire said in a low, rumbling voice, now wanting to rip into the woman's skin. The pain in her chest doubled, driving all other thoughts from her mind. She felt would vomit but instead coughed, speckling the dock at her feet in drops of red.

"Claire!" Ada shouted, running forward. She felt Ada's hands on her, which seemed to give the creeping darkness license to wash out her vision.

Chapter Nine.

Claire woke to the odor of motor oil and rotten wood. She was stiff all over and her body punished her for moving. She blinked to clear her vision and saw that night had come, along with rain which now rattled heavy on the roof. From the greasy light of an oil lamp nearby, she could see she was in some kind of shed.

She had her clothes on, which surprised her, and in looking for signs of Ada she saw her gear had been set atop a crate. Claire retrieved it and in the course of checking her weapons over, she felt something scratchy inside her underwear. It was a piece of paper, a note bearing Ada's name. She'd apparently brought lipstick and signed it with a kiss as well. Claire signed, and read the note close to the lamp.

Claire, thanks for the rescue. Sorry to love and run, but I've got a mission of my own to complete. As you likely know by now, you've been infected with Las Plagas. You'll become one of the ganado if you don't get it removed, and obey one of the controllers. That's about all I can tell you, but if you happen to run across a woman named Annette Birkin, I'd ask her more about it. She might know of a drug that can slow the process down, or cure it. Sorry I can't tell you more, but this is business and you're technically the competition. Best luck, Ada.

Claire held the note close to the lamp until it caught fire, and crumbled to the floor. From the shanty door, she saw she was still by the lake, and after taking a moment to collect her thoughts, contacted Hunnigan.

Claire! Came Hunnigan's voice. Claire could hear activity behind her. What happened? It's been six hours since your last transmission.

Six hours... Claire muttered before pushing the talk button. Sorry, Hunnigan. I was attacked again, but I managed to get across the lake. Must have been knocked out. There was a lake monster.

Lake mons...Just get to the church and secure Ashley, if she's still there. If not, get us some intel about what's on the ground. We can't risk sending in a chopper, yet, and if we reinforce you, they might harm the girl.

I managed to get some more firepower, so it's not all bad. I'll head to the church now, Claire said, after deciding she didn't want to tell Hunnigan about the parasite.

Hurry, said Hunnigan.

Claire left the shanty and headed in the direction she thought might take her back to the village. She expected a long slog through mud and darkness, but instead found her way was lighted by torches that hissed in the rain, road flares, and glow rods. The path was less muddy than expected, there having been some thought put to drainage in the form of ditches on either side.

She encountered one ganado coming down the trail, staggering like a drunk. His head was lopped to the side, as though he were partially asleep. He began to shake, then Claire saw his neck tear open and his head fall back, allowing room for the parasite within to come out, flailing its support tentacles while whipping the long, bladed one around in front of it.

Her aim was off, and it took five shots to put two bullets into the parasite's body, causing it to whither and die. The body took a few steps forward, turned, and fell into the mud.

Past it, the trail ended at a cliff overlooking the base of a waterfall. The river bellow was hemmed in by wooden platforms on each side, while another platform had been built down the center of the river and seemed to go beneath the waterfall. Two towers were on the side platforms, and it all seemed to be some kind of way station, where the ganado used the water to move heavy objects. Claire could see a rope ladder leading down from where she was, but no such ladder on the other side.

-Must be the path goes under the waterfall?- she wondered, deciding she would have to look and see.

A small gang of ganado were busy working, moving box into and out of the water. They used hanging glow roads and hissing braziers to light their work, allowing Claire to line up a few shots with her rifle.

She took down two before they all started running, and not wanting to waste rifle ammo on scurrying targets, she quickly descended the rope ladder and used her pistol to finish off the rest. With the area clear, she moved to the central boardwalk, and went under the waterfall, wincing as it pounded her and tore at her already soaked clothes.

There was indeed a tunnel beneath the fall, lit the same way as the path above. She followed it, finding it led to an underground lagoon where the ganado had piled supplies of all sorts except, she noticed, guns and ammunition. -Probably a good thing,- she thought. -At least I won't be shot.-

At the back of the depot was a set of wooden steps, which led her up to a quarry, where she took cover behind a row of shacks on her left after seeing a band of a dozen ganado milling around a few burning barrels. Behind them, and also off to her left, were two gates made from giant logs. Claire unslung her rifle and thinking to use the stairs as a choke point, fired at the ganado.

Rather than charge her, one began yelling in Spanish while the others took hold of two ropes at the base of the gate closest to them. The others got the doors open and went to the ropes, where they began tugging as though towing something out.

Too confused to shoot, Claire watched them. That's bizarre, she whispered.

You don't know the half of it, said a gruff voice from nearby. She turned to see the pervert standing in the window of the shack closest to her. He chuckled and touched his nose, but Claire's attention was on the ganado, who were pulling at the ropes.

What the heck are they doing? she asked, now hearing a low rumble emanating from behind the doors. What's behind there?

Oh, it's a doozy, said the pervert with a chuckle.

Something bellowed from inside the gate, and the ganado dropped their ropes and ran to the door, pushing it shut again, apparently having second thoughts about that they'd been trying to coax out. The doors burst open, kicked by a massive gray foot, and the creature they'd been pulling at emerged.

She'd been right to think of King Kong on seeing the gates, but what stood in the open now was more like the love child of the giant ape and the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The ganado were terrified of it, and ran, seeking hiding places or weapons to defend themselves. The giant looked around at them, unable to decide on which ones to attack. It settled on one ganado who'd been knocked to the ground by the door kick, and after letting out a roar that sent chunks of spittle flying, it picked up its massive foot and brought it down on the ganado, planting him into the ground.

Once the giant got moving, it killed with brutal efficiency. It scooped up fleeing ganado on the run, and either tore them into pieces, slammed them into the ground, or hurled them over the edge of the quarry. The last one it caught, it squeezed into a soupy ball, using its large, twisting hands. The parasite burst out in a last minute effort to save itself, but died with its host on the ground.

I'll go around, Claire said, heading back down the stairs and finding the door she'd come in through locked. The monster's roars as it searched for more kills kept her from kicking it in, not wanting to make noise and attract its attention.

Looks like they locked the door, the tricky bastards, the pervert said, cheerily as he came to the top of the stairs. They were concealed from the monster's view by the shacks, but Claire felt herself in a panic all the same.

Claire pointed her gun at the pervert. Did you lock that door?

He held his hands out. I was with ye the whole time, not possible. Heh, heh. I got something that might help you with that big fella, he said, gesturing with his thumb to where the monster was still on a rampage.

I don't have time for your games. Give it to me. You're trapped here, too.

Again, the pervert chuckled and sat down. No, I'm not, he said. I got nowhere to be and I'm in no hurry. You on the other hand...

Just give me whatever weapon you think will kill that thing, Claire said, keeping her voice low and the gun leveled at the pervert.

We've got to work out a payment, first, he said. This one will cost ye, I reckon.

I don't have time...

Oh, this one is easy. You're gettin' off cheap in my opinion. See, I need models for my catalog...

No, she said. We had this discussion already.

We agreed no Internet, and El Gigante wasn't breathing down your neck at the time we had it. Besides, this is strictly a paper catalog distributed amongst select customers only.

Claire mopped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and kept still as she heard the thing nearby come closer. It had calmed down, and wandered to the other end of the quarry to bellow at some crows. Alright, she said, thinking of Ashley. What do you want this time?

Heh, heh, alright then, he said, taking out a still camera. Step down to that flat bit in front of the door, that's it, right there...

Following his instructions, Claire ended up on her knees, sitting back on her calves wearing nothing but her jeans and vest, which she left open to show off her breasts. She held her rifle between them, angling herself according to the pervert's instructions. That's it, that's it, now...get a look on your face like you want to get naughty with that rifle...no, don't look at the rifle, look at the camera...try not to blink...heh, heh, yeah.

He took pictures in several poses, one with the gun held up, secured by her smooshed-together beasts, another with her licking the barrel, and one with the stock between her legs, her eyes closed and head tilted back as though it were pleasuring her.

Who the heck reads this catalog, anyway? asked Claire when the pervert seemed satisfied.

Oh...no one you'll ever meet, I'm sure. Now, for the next bit, you'll be naked...

Hey! What kind of weapon is this going to be, anyway?

The pervert waved his hand. This part is easy, he said. Go n' fetch the weapon I left in the shack, then come back here and get the part you'll need to make it work.

Naked?

He nodded. Naked.

She went to the top of the stairs and peered around the corner. The monster was pawing at some loose rocks, reaching for a ganado that survived and was trying to keep alive by burying himself in rubble. She went to the shack and saw what the pervert was talking about; a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. She took it and went back to cover.

Clothes, the pervert said. This is a more important shot than the rifle.

Whatever you say, she said, disrobing completely. You know if this doesn't work, we're both in trouble?

He took the launcher from her, then took something from inside his coat and tinkered with the weapon. Oh, I have faith in ye, he said. There, go get him. First, hold it between yer breasts...aw,

Claire had given him a dirty look instead and taken the weapon. She heard the camera clicking and the pervert's low chuckling as she stepped naked into the open with nothing but the launcher in hand.

She gave a sharp whistle and the beast turned, both furious and satisfied to see her. Claire took a knee and aimed the launched at the monster's sunken chest as it strode towards her, heedless of the danger it was in. Claire had yet to meet a B.O.W that could take an RPG to the chest, and as soon as the rocket fired, she felt better.

The giant stumbled back with a great oozing hole in its chest, blackened around the edges. It pawed at the wound with its big, sausage fingers and Claire could see the parasite inside, dying from the shrapnel that pierced it.

The big slab of meat came down with a crash that made the ground shake, and Claire scooted back, seeing dozens of smaller parasites erupt from the giant's body. They came scuttling at her on tiny legs, and she bolted away, only to bump into the pervert.

Step aside, he said, and took her by the shoulders to move her. He reached into his coat and pulled out something blue the size of his fist. Cover yer eyes, he shouted, and threw it.

Claire looked away and heard the grenade go off. She remembered the sound from the day Ashley was kidnapped, and turned to see the parasites had all shriveled like jellyfish in the sun.

Flash-bang, the pervert said. They're sensitive to light; s' why you won't see 'em pop out in the day.

Claire said nothing, went back to where she had left her clothes, and got dressed. Anything else you think I'll need later on? Maybe we can get this all out of the way right now, she said.

The pervert chuckled and tucked his camera away. Afraid not, miss, he said. I've got nothing good on me. I do know how to get past that door, and that I'll give ye free for being a such good customer.

Whatever, she said.

Chapter Ten.

The directions the pervert gave her were accurate, and she was glad to see he was at least trustworthy. -Although I wonder about that locked door,- she thought, clutching the key he'd given her, which he claimed would allow her to access the church.

A few torches had been lit around the outside of the building, their light only reaching about halfway up the church's side before blending into the darkness and rain. There were no ganado posted around, making her think Ashley had been moved. -Have to check,- she thought, and approached the door, wary. As soon as the lock tumblers clicked, she heard a dog growl behind her. Bewildered, she turned and her heart leapt into her throat.

There were three of them, large, wolfish, and crouched to spring. They seemed to grin at her, but their yellow eyes reflected something closer to hatred rather than eagerness. Claire opened the door as they sprang, and was halfway inside when she felt one's jaws snap on her pant leg. She shook herself free as it opened its jaw to try for a meatier bite, and got the door closed with a hard slam.

They let out a series of tremendous barks, and she turned to the church's interior expecting to be greeted by a host of ganado. There were none.

Her pistol was drawn, and she could see the church was mostly one big room. The pews had copper trimming, the walls were hung with tapestries, the stained glass windows were clean, only speckled by rain from outside. Above she could see a kind of walkway that went around the room and was ringed by a simple stone balustrade.

Claire heard the barks from outside become low growls, which then went silent under the rain. Claire looked at the empty church and felt like she might cry. She didn't, however, and wouldn't until she saw Ashley was in fact not there. She went to the back of the pulpit, noted the ornate candelabras and the strange book that sat open between them. She took a look and while unable to read it, knew it wasn't the Bible. Seeing that, she saw a host of other details that lent a disturbing air to the church. For one, there were no crucifixes, only that strange serpentine symbol that reminded her of a weather vane. None of the tapestries depict Jesus or the saints, unless the purple hooded figure with the obscured eyes was supposed to be one. She didn't think so, unless the the Emperor from Star Wars was now a religious icon.

A heavy feeling began to steal over Claire, making a strange mix with the odd sense of arousal that was once again creeping up inside her. She searched for a way up to the balcony, and found a ladder tucked behind one of the columns to the side of pulpit. Once up there, she spied a wooden door, and knew if she didn't find Ashley behind it, all was lost.

-Maybe it's a trap and I'll be put out of my misery,- she thought, ashamed of the dark mood she'd fallen into.

The door was locked, and Claire set to breaking it down with her shoulder. Tired as she was, it felt good to take her aggression out on something, and the door proved to be up to the challenge. She slammed into it three times, hearing it crack on the third. -One more,- she thought, putting all her might into the charge.

The door opened before she hit it and she went sprawling onto the stone floor. Rolling onto her back, she looked up to see Ashley's wide-eyed stare. The girl dropped the board she'd been intending to brain Claire with and fell on her, smothering her face in kisses between incoherent words that expressed relief and joy.

"It's really you, oh God, it's you!" Ashley said as Claire sat up, wrapping the girl in her arms and pulled her tight. Ashley wore the same orange, sleeveless sweater and green checkered skirt she'd had on when she was abducted. Claire felt Ashley's hands on her back, squeezing her as if still not convinced she was real. Claire had to press her face into the side of Ashley's neck and inhale, taking her scent in before she herself would believe reality.

"Are you alright? Have they hurt you?" Claire asked, taking Ashley by the shoulders and pushing her back to examine her.

"I'm fine," Ashley said. "I get carried around like a sack of grain, but they don't hurt me. Who are these people?"

"I was hoping you'd know," Claire said.

Ashley shook her head. "They're...weird. Claire, this is going to sound crazy, but..."

"They're all monsters," Claire finished. "I know all about monsters, sweetie." She held up her gun. "Shoot for the head."

Ashley smiled and fidgeted, eager to leave. Claire paused to look at her, saw the peach colored flesh of her legs between the tops of her boots and hem of her skirt, and felt something within her stir. -I probably won't see her after this,- Claire thought. The idea took possession of her, and she closed the door with a swift kick.

"Claire?" Ashley said, as Claire came forward. "Are you..." Their lips met, cutting the girl off. Claire broke the kiss and gave Ashley a look that told the girl everything.

Ashley looked like she might protest, but instead the sweater she had hung around the back of her neck fell to the ground, followed by her shirt, leaving her momentarily in her skirt and white bra. That was soon off as well, which was enough for Claire. She took each of Ashley's breasts in her hand and squeezed. Ashley squeaked, surprised by Claire's eagerness, and was pulled in and kissed, then nearly bitten on the neck.

Claire pushed Ashley onto a wooden table, and the girl had to move quickly to avoid her panties being torn as they were removed. Claire buried her face between Ashley's legs and took in as much of her scent and flavor as she could before wetting her with her tongue. The taste made Claire's body convulse with urgency as she gripped the girl's thighs and pressed her tongue forward.

"Claire," Ashley whispered, letting her head fall back. Her soft hands went between keeping her balance on the table, and touching Claire's head. Ashley began letting out a series of full throated moans, surprised at the speed in which Claire was making her come. It was over soon, and panting, Ashley slid off the table to her knees and took in gulping breaths while Claire undid her pants.

Naked from the waist down, Claire sat on the table with her legs spread, taking Ashley by the back of the head as she came to her. Ashley licked gently at first, but Claire sighed with frustration. "Harder" she said.

Ashley plunged into her lover with abandon, astonished by how wet Claire had become. Ashley did her best, and Claire guiltily imagined Ada between her legs and on her lips so she could come sooner. When she did, she pulled Ashley closer, banishing Ada from her mind in the last moment and replacing it with the blond girl.

They put their clothes back on in silence. "Ashley," Claire said. "Did they inject you with anything?"

Ashley was looking at Claire as though maybe she wasn't as saved as she thought, but now her eyes lit up. "Yeah, I think so. Why?"

Claire rubbed her neck, realizing now why Ashley had been kidnapped. "They injected me, too. It's like a mind-control parasite. I think what I just did was a side effect."

Ashley nodded and pulled in her lower lip. "That...explains a few things," she said.

"We have to get it cured, or we'll be like them," Claire said.

She picked up her radio. "Hunnigan, this is Claire, do you copy?"

"Copy, Claire. What have you got?"

"Ashley Graham. We're at the church. I'm moving her now, contact me with an LZ."

"Roger that," Hunnigan said, surprise and excitement in her voice.

Claire went down the ladder first, and couldn't help but look up as Ashley came down after her. Their escape was cut short when they saw a man in a hooded purple robe, who was standing in front of the door. He looked identical to the man depicted in the tapestries, Claire noted, and he carried a tall wooden staff that seemed afflicted with a number of bulbous tumors, each with a long, thin tendril that twirled lazily in the air. "Ladies," he said. "Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Osmund Saddler, leader of Los Illuminados."

"Get away from the door," Claire said, raising her pistol.

"Orders and threats," Saddler said, his polite tone like a sheet of ice of a lake of contempt. "You must be an American agent. You're in no position to tell anyone what to do, miss..."

"Claire Redfield. Now, this is your last chance."

Saddler smiled and turned his palms up. Claire put four shots into his chest, which she saw pierce the cloth of his robe and leave wet stains. Saddler didn't move, save for his smile broadening. -He's a monster, of course,- Claire thought, as Ashley pressed closer to her.

Claire frantically looked for a way out of the church, and saw a stained glass window low to the ground to her left. "Remember when I told you about 'tuck and roll?'" Claire asked. Ashley nodded. "Good," Claire said, and grabbed Ashley by the hand. They ran towards the window and Claire jumped first, using her body to break it, and hoping the ground outside was soft. The glass shattered, and Claire felt the open air for a moment before hitting the rain-soaked ground. "Up, up, up!" Claire shouted, pulling Ashley to her feet.

The front of the church yard now held over two dozen ganado, who stood amongst the graves and around a large wooden cart filled with barrels. They got over their surprise and came towards the two women, axes and farming tools in hand.

Claire saw two large ganado were at the back of the cart, keeping it from rolling backward along the ruts it had worn in the muddy ground on its way up. Claire tugged Ashley toward the cart, skirting around to the side to avoid the half dozen ganado chasing them. She urged Ashley to jump onto the car, while she shot the legs from under the two ganado holding it in place. Claire and Ashley clung to the side as the cart rolled, picking up speed and following the ruts like a train.

In the dark, she could see the torches of dozens more ganado at the bottom of the hill, and was about to shout for Ashley to break for the woods, as their capture looked imminent, but then she noticed the smell coming from the barrels, and the liquid sloshing sound from inside.

"Ashley, jump!" Claire screamed, thinking the nitroglycerine in the barrels should have exploded before now, given the bumpy ride.

She saw Ashley fall from the cart into the mud, and Claire let go herself, leaving the cart to plow into the shack she'd taken cover in from before, just as the group of new ganado got near it.

The explosion demolished the shack and the cart; Claire was hit by several pieces of wood that now fell with the rain. Getting to her feet she ran to Ashley, who was picking herself up as well. "Run!" she shouted, not knowing how injured Ashley might be, but knowing the blast was their last chance to escape.

They were up and running down the hill. Claire put bullets in the legs of the few ganado who blocked their path, allowing them to slip past and outdistance them. Claire felt like she might collapse from exhaustion, and hoped Ashley had more stamina reserves, as they ran aimlessly into the night.

Chapter Eleven.

The rain was coming down in sheets, making it impossible to see more than a few steps ahead. Claire had to take it on faith that they were headed towards the village and there were no traps to stumble into. She hoped the number of ganado at the church meant that there were few or none in the village, and she and Ashley would be able to hide while they waited for a landing zone to be identified.

The rain made her clothes heavy, and stung her face. She could feel Ashley stumble as they went, and as relieved when she recognized the dark shapes before her as village houses. Seeking out the high tower, she led Ashley into the opening at the base, where the rain no longer lashed at them. Claire fell against the back wall, while Ashley settled by her side.

"I thought we were goners," Ashley said, heaving the words from her taxed lungs.

"Nah, I had it all under control," Claire said, nudging Ashley, and holding up her radio. "Hunnigan, it's Claire. Do you have a rendezvous point yet?"

The radio crackled, and there was no response. Claire repeated her message, resisting the urge to tell Hunnigan she was in the village, lest she be overheard. More crackling and no response. "Nuts," Claire said, examining the radio. It was designed to function when wet, but she was less sure the warranty covered explosions. "Let's hope it's just the weather interfering," Claire said.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but...you're the only person they sent?" asked Ashley.

"It's complicated," Claire said, shaking the radio and making an annoyed sound. Peering into the night, she clucked her tongue. "We can't stay here. I'm sure they'll be back to search this place sooner or later."

"Can we wait, my legs feel like Jell-O."

"Just for a bit," Claire said, refreshing her magazines and checking the scope on her rifle. She was getting low on bullets and loosened the hatchet in her belt, hoping she wouldn't have to resort to it.

Ashley got to her feet, groaning, and nodded. Claire thought the ganado might come looking for them over the trail she had taken into the village, and so decided on a risky move. "Where are we going?" asked Ashley, seeing they were headed back the way they had come.

"I'm not entirely sure," Claire said, leading Ashley back up the long hill and veering off towards the farm. Thinking she could hear shouts and dogs barking beneath the rain, she moved faster until they are at the white barn where she'd met Ada before. It was as abandoned and dark as the village, except for the northwest end where a large bonfire had been lit and left unattended. They went past it, each wishing they could warn themselves by it, but kept going until they came to a sturdy wooden footbridge spanning a wide, deep chasm.

Claire saw the river was bellow and stopped on the bridge to try the radio again, as the rain was lightening. "Hunnigan, do you read?"

"Cla...rall..." Hunnigan's voice was distant. Claire again examined the radio for signs of damage, and swore when the shouts of men and barking of dogs came closer.

"It's them!" Ashley shouted, as a mob of ganado came into view, wielding torches and farm implements.

Claire could see a scattered few were also coming from the woods on their side of the river. "Come on," Claire said, pulling Ashley towards a large two story house that sat in the middle of an open area. Yellow lights could be seen in the windows and Claire thought to make the roof, possibly getting the helicopter to at least snatch Ashley using a rope.

The door wasn't locked or barred, and inside the first floor consisted of one large kitchen area. Claire slid what tables and chairs she could in front of the door, the went to the stairs, knowing that was where she would have to hold them off.

"Go upstairs," Claire said. "Take this radio and try to call a chopper to this location. We should be half a mile north of the village, got that?

"Half a mile north of the village," Ashley repeated. "Got it." She ran upstairs as Claire could hear the ganado surround the building, muttering in guttural Spanish their crude plans for breaking in. Almost as soon as Claire saw a leering, wide eyed face in the window, she heard Ashley scream.

Calling herself everything nasty name she could think of for not securing the top floor first, Claire went up the stairs and through the open door at the top. She saw Ashley clutching the radio with both hands and Annette Birkin half out of a wardrobe, clutching a pump action shotgun. She pointed it at Claire, her expression wide with fear. "Don't come any closer!" Annette shouted.

"We're surrounded," Claire said. "Point the gun at them, instead!"

Annette lowered the weapon and looked out the window nearest to her. "Oh God, you led them right to me!"

"Do you know how to use that thing?" Claire asked.

Annette scowled. "I'm a former Umbrella researcher, I know how to use a shotgun, thank you."

Claire bristled at the word "Umbrella," despite having suspected what Annette was. "What's Umbrella got to do with this?" Claire asked, and was answered by the sound of smashing glass and splintering wood from bellow. The ganado shouted, Claire making out the Spanish word for "upstairs."

She shut the door and Ashley helped her slide a heavy desk in front of it. She snatched the radio from Ashley and yelled into it, calling for Hunnigan to send a chopper to their location. There was no response, but Claire kept repeating the message as hatchet blades began to break through the door.

When the top of a ladder smashed a window near Annette, Claire handed the radio back to Ashley and went to shove the ladder away, even as more came to the other windows. As she pushed another ladder back, something heavy went whirling past her head and clattered to the floor. A hatchet, which she picked up and tossed to Ashley, who nearly dropped it.

The ganado had managed to destroy part of the door at the top of the stairs, and with cries of triumph, started to crawl through, over the desk blocking the lower half. Claire shouted for Annette to give her the shotgun, which she did, and Claire used it to pepper the man that came over the desk. She closed the distance between her and the next and continued to fire, hoping to either clear the stairs or force them into a retreat.

She ran out of shells and began using the butt-stock to bludgeon the ganados filling the doorway. Something tugged at her hip and she saw Annette draw her pistol and begin shooting at ganado who were now coming over the ladders, through the windows. Ashley screamed as one of them caught her by the arm. She'd buried her hatchet into another's face, where it had become stuck and free of her grasp.

Claire tossed the shotgun to the floor and pulled her hatchet. She spit the skull of the man grappling with Ashley and sent him out the window. Twisting the ladder off to the side, she led the girl away from the front door and stood in a corner, calling for Annette to give her back the gun.

When the weapon clicked empty, Annette let it fall from her hands and backed herself to the opposite corner. "Ashley," Claire said. "I'm going to hit them at that ladder there. Go around behind me, climb down, and run as fast as you can into the woods. Keep running and don't stop."

Three ganado were in the room now, stepping over the bodies of their comrades. Claire was about to move, knowing it was a lost cause, when something exploded outside, making the building shake. The ganado stopped, curious, but were not deterred and continued their approach. There was another explosion, and now the shouts from outside were ones of surprise and anger.

"Yes!" Claire shouted, knowing it had to be the help she had called. She did not know what kind of ordinance was being used, and did not care. She unslung the rifle from her shoulder and fired it from the hip at the closest ganado, hitting him in the chest and causing him to drop, the parasite inside being dead. She tossed the rifle into the arms of the one charging her, who caught it, and punched him in the jaw, stunning him long enough for her to shove him backward, into the other. Her hatchet now in hand, she butchered them as they tried to get up.

Another explosion, followed by yet another. Claire looked outside to see the ganado were scrambling to the tree line. Claire could hear small arms fire now, and looked for soldiers or agents like herself.

"Are we saved?" Ashley said.

"Sort of," Claire replied, picking up her weapons and tossing the shotgun to Ashley. She refreshed her handgun's magazine while keeping an eye on Annette, who was leaning in the corner. Claire picked up her radio and shook it hard. "Hunnigan, it's Claire. Do you read?"

"Copy," came Hunnigan's voice. "Claire, what the hell is going on?"

"We're half a click north of the village in a two story cabin. We were just attacked by a swarm of hostiles but they came under fire."

"That's not us," Hunnigan said. "We sent a chopper to your area and it was shot down. We can't extract you by air, not that close to the hostile zone. You have to get clear of there."

Claire swore. "Where, then?"

"There's a castle several clicks to the north. It's on a national historical registry. Radio in when you get there. Until then, maintain radio silence. Whoever shot the chopper down knew it was coming and from what direction."

Claire slapped her forehead. Barely having made it this far alive she did not see how she could go farther, especially with traitors in their midst. "Rodger that, Hunnigan. Claire out."

She turned the radio off and put it back on her belt, feeling as though she were forgetting something. Tired and happy to be alive, she put the thought from her mind. "Let's get out of here before they come back," Claire said. "You and I also need to have a talk," she said to Annette.

"Can I have my shotgun back?"

"No," Claire said. "It's out of shells anyway. Stick close to us and you'll be safe."

"Pfft. I'm sure I will."

They left the building quickly and Claire could still hear shouts from the woods, only they were far off.

"At least the rain stopped," Ashley said.

Chapter Twelve.

A road ran north through a shallow valley. Once the heat in their bodies from physical exertion began to wear off, the cold night air and wet clothing took its toll. Claire felt a sluggishness creep over her, and could see it was slowing Ashley down. Annette seemed fine, if annoyed. Night clouds hung over their heads like a sheet of ink. Their way was at least lighted by more of the same glow rods and hissing braziers Claire had seen before. Thankfully there was no wind, and the finger-like trees that hemmed them in on both sides were still.

Claire stopped by one of the braziers, holding her hands over it to warm them, as she'd need them to shoot. Ashley set the shotgun down, holding it as though it might explode or attack her, and warmed her hands, too.

"Don't hold the gun like that," Claire said. "Keep control of it, even if it's not loaded."

Ashley looked at her, wounded at first, but seeing she wasn't being scolded, nodded.

"We should find somewhere warm to rest," Annette said. "They won't look for us too hard now."

"Really? They seemed to be looking pretty hard back there," Claire said.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, but..."

"What, that we've all been infected with Las Plagas and will become ganados," Claire said. "I know. What I don't know is how to cure us, which is what I wanted to talk to you about. A little bird told me you might know something."

"A little bird? Oh well, I suppose there's no sense in me keeping secrets, as they have even less reason to keep me alive than either of you."

She stood closer to the brazier, holding her hands over it until the smoke drifted towards her, then she moved closer to Ashley, making Claire watch her every move. "I used to be an Umbrella researcher. I worked in a lab at Raccoon City...you know what happened there?"

Claire was too stunned to speak immediately, and Annette smiled at the nerve she'd hit. "I was there," Claire said. "I was one of the few who lived."

"We're a small club," said Annette. "I escaped by the skin of my teeth, but my husband..."

"You said you had a daughter. What that a lie, too?"

Annette shook her head in a way that made Clair feel a small amount of pity. "I don't know what happened to Sherry. I heard a rumor that a cop managed to make it out alongside a little girl. I told Sherry to go to the police station if anything bad ever happened, so perhaps...it doesn't matter. I was, of course, jobless after the incident, and there aren't many openings for a bioweapons designer of my caliber and experience. I fell in with a man named Osmund Saddler, who said he'd stumbled on an intriguing discovery, one I could help him with."

"The leader of this messed up cult," said Claire. "We met him earlier; he's a monster. So, you helped him create this parasite, is that it?" Claire, despite herself, felt a red rage billowing up inside her like a storm. She no longer felt cold.

Annette shrugged. "My forte is virology, but in my work with Umbrella I happened to learn quite a bit about parasites, too. Saddler had me refine his discovery into a form he could use. I figured I was dealing with a Jim Jones type at worst, an Charles Manson at best. I didn't think he'd have the guts or resources to kidnap the president's da..."

Claire hit her in the jaw, sending her sprawling. She moved to begin kicking the woman's brains out, but Ashley's grip pulled her back both in distance and to her senses. "Idiot," Claire spat. "Of all the monsters I've seen and killed, you're the worst. You're the mother of them all, literally."

Annette rubbed her jaw, looking up in fear until it was clear she would not be beaten further. "You're right," Annette said, getting up. "I started my research looking for cures, but...you're not a scientist, so I don't expect you'll ever understand."

"No, I won't," said Claire. "Enough of this crap. How do we get the parasite out of us?"

"We don't," Annette said. "There are drugs that slow it down, which I developed while trying to find ways to make the thing harder to remove. They're at the castle I think your superior told you about, which you'll find is not the refuge you think it is."

Claire's hands clenched. -Should've known.- "Even if that's the case, we need those drugs to buy us more time," Claire said. "There has to be a way to remove it. If we can slow it down long enough to be rescued..."

"There is technically a removal method, but the equipment is miles from here on an island and I guarantee the American government doesn't have anything like it. Regular surgery isn't going to cut it, so forget that, too."

"So we'll get the drugs and tell the army where the removal equipment is," said Ashley. "No problem, right?"

Claire smiled. "No problem. Doesn't change our plans much, does it? You said they won't be coming after us hard. Why? Is it because they think we'll turn and be on their side?"

"Yes," said Annette. "They know time is on their side, but they also know if she's rescued before she changes, she'll alert the government to the plan and it will go to hell. See, they want her to go back to the White House, infested, then spread it to others. That way Saddler will have control over the United States government."

Claire felt like she'd been punched, and did slap her own forehead before reaching for her radio. "That's what I forgot," she hissed, hailing Hunnigan. She was answered by static laced with a high pitched whine that made everyone's ears hurt. "Oh, fuck!" Claire shouted, startling Ashley.

"What is it?" Ashley asked, a frightened tone in her voice which Claire knew had been caused by her.

"A jammer," Claire said, forcing calm into her voice. "That whining sound means the signal is being jammed. God, I don't believe it. I could have wrecked their entire plan in one sentence and like an idiot..." she cut herself off and covered her face. -Chris wouldn't have screwed up like this,- she thought. -Nobody would have screwed up like this.-

Seeing Ashley from the corner of her eye, Claire took a deep breath and willed her composure back. "Sorry," she said. "Alright, we need those drugs, that's for sure. Maybe we can get out of range of the jammer there, too. No sense in crying over spilled milk."

Ada Wong had not come dressed to go traipsing about the woods in the dark on anyone's account, yet there she was. She had also not brought enough ammo to be providing cover fire for a bungling government agent, and yet she had done that, too.

-I thought you were over this, Ada,- she thought to herself. -You made a mistake with that girl, and corrected it. Leave it alone.-

She had felt like hitting Claire upside the head when she saw her enter the cabin, leaving herself to be besieged. A fine tactic when one had plenty of ammo and less determined opponents, but the ganado had hopefully shown Claire what they were capable of, and she would take heed from now on.

Ada had lost her pursuers in the woods. The grenade launcher she'd brought had a few rounds left, and she hoped they wouldn't be needed further. Woefully behind her own schedule, she vowed to stop messing around with Claire and get her job done. Her one thought was now about how to find Annette Birkin, who would hopefully have her lab passkey still on her.

Ada gained the top of a hill overlooking the path Claire would have to come down. It led to a sturdy, if hastily built, log fort, which ganado used as a staging area for their activities. Ada took a pair of red framed sunglasses from a pouch around her waist and put them on. Working for Wesker had come with some perks, namely access to gear she would never be able to afford, much less find for sale.

The glasses acted as low-level night vision goggles. There were small switches on the frames, but what set them apart were the sensors built into the frames and nose bridges. Squinting towards the trail, the glasses zoomed in like binoculars and the night vision upped itself a notch, making the path easier to see in the dark.

There were shapes moving up the path, their silhouettes clear when they passed in front of a barrel fire. It was Claire, leading the way, followed by what had to be Ashley Graham, who carried a shotgun.

A third person was behind them, unarmed. Not a ganado. Ada squinted and the glasses preformed a wondrous trick. Using a satellite signal and special servers Wesker used to store useful data, coupled with facial recognition technology, a tiny window popped up before Ada's eyes, telling her the third figure was Annette Birkin.

"So much for keeping out of Claire's business," muttered Ada, thinking things might get quite ugly between the two of them before this was over.

She examined the fort more closely, and saw quite clearly that Claire didn't know what she was stumbling into, nor had she the ammo to deal with it. Ada sighed, and bemoaning the dirt at the hem of her dress, moved towards the fort, hoping to gain a good position to fire on it when the time came.

Don Esteban stood atop a watchtower made from freshly cut logs. He had been told by one of the Sisters to stand watch and shout if the intruders came this way, as there was word they had eluded the mob sent to hound them at the church.

In the back of his mind, he was sorry the place had not been burned down. It was an affront to God and all that was holy, but this idea was shelved alongside his feelings about the color of buttons and the best time of day to smoke one's pipe. The remainder of his facilities were bent towards doing the bidding of the women known as the Bella Sisters.

Their former names were unimportant to him now, but he remembered them being well known in the village, both for their looks and fiery spirits. Their father had been kicked to death by a cow when they were young, and their mother was not a clever or strong woman, so it fell to the Sisters to look out for one another. He remembered them as they were, fondly, along with other useless facts such as the ideal temperature at which he liked his tea.

His eye, sharpened by an alien fanaticism, spotted something. The lights along the trail flickered, but now they flickered as though some shape were passing by them. Don Esteban turned and bolted down the ladder, and through the spiraling maze of the fort's outer wall with a speed and agility lost to him many years ago, but regained in recent months.

He crossed the fort's courtyard, more a muddy pit, really, and burst in through the door on the far side. Sitting in a chair was the oldest of the Bella Sisters, Faustina. A lithe, nubile woman beneath her heavy dress, she was tinkering with a yellow chainsaw, heedless of getting grease on her clothes. She turned her face towards his loud entrance. She seemed idly curious about what he had to report.

"Intruders, coming up the pass," he said.

She grinned, her red eyes lighting up with malicious glee. The scars that crisscrossed her beautiful oval face seemed to dance, and she stood, and she hefted her chainsaw. "Find Miranda, my sister, and tell her to come here."

"Yes," said Don Esteban. "I will alert the whole fort."

"No," Faustina said. "Let them come to the center, then we will have them at our mercy."

"Do not forget Lord Saddler's orders," said Don Esteban.

She snarled at him, but there was nothing to argue about between them. Don Esteban left the room, tapping a man on the shoulder and alerting him of the crude plan, and to keep quiet. He wondered what doom would befall the intruders, and in the back of his brain he prayed to be killed.

Chapter Thirteen.

The ground was getting drier the farther uphill they went. Annette no longer felt the ground tugging at her feet as she walked, and had been thankful to avoid the downpours from earlier. Her jaw still hurt from where she'd been punched by the government agent, and the pain left with an odd form of contentment, which she hated. She had no right to feel bad for anything she'd done, Annette had always thought. To avoid these thoughts, she kept trying to decide on whether or not to run from these two at the first opportunity, or stick with them. She'd become resigned to the fact she would soon be a ganado, and even a small flicker of hope was an irritation.

Were the shotgun loaded, she thought, she could try to take the weapon from the girl. Ashley was cradling it almost like an infant, one she thought might bite her, as they plodded up the path between the stumpy hills.

They came to wall of muddy logs that marked the outer ring of what Annette knew to be a simple fort. Above the logs was the dark recess of a watch tower where a ganado likely stood. When no one shouted as they came near, Annette thought they might get a free pass through. Beyond the log structure she knew there was a gorge where they would find the castle they sought, but still didn't think they would make it.

There was no door to the fort. The wall on the north side came only halfway across the narrow gap between the hills and directed visitors to the north where it wound inward. Outside was a cart, missing a wheel and a steel dumpster.

Annette watched Claire look about like a rodent scanning the skies for a hawk, then her gaze fell on the dumpster. She lifted the lid and peered in. "You two should hide in here while I see what's up with the place," she said.

"Not a chance," Annette said, as Ashley Graham dutifully climbed in.

"You can climb in or get thrown in, your choice," said Claire.

"Very well," Annette said.

The dumpster was bigger than it seemed, and smelled of rust and wood. With the lid shut, it was pitch black inside, and Annette could hear the girl moving. "Ow," Ashley, said as her head bumped the side of the bin and made a dull echo.

Annette tried to think of some waspish insult, but was too tired. It was only barely registering in her mind that she was sharing a dumpster with the president of the United State's daughter, the famous Ashley Graham, who Annette had always imaged would be stupid in person.

"Do you think those drugs will work?" Ashley asked.

"All they do is slow the parasite's growth, and yes, it's worked on test subjects."

There was a pause, the words "test subjects" clearly having given the girl something to consider. "Are they pills, or like a shot?" she asked.

"Pills."

"Is there enough for the three of us?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Like...how big does the parasite get?"

Annette smiled a grim smile in the dark. "It depends on the type. Some can be a meter long or more."

"Ugh, gross," Ashley said, and Annette could hear her writhe. The thought of the girl's warm body was making her skin tingle. "When they take over, are you still conscious?"

Annette cleared her throat, now thinking Ashley wasn't as stupid as she'd wanted to believe. "It's hard t tell. The host doesn't die, like a zombie, but how aware they are when controlled, I haven't been able to determine."

"I...I think I'll kill myself before I become one of them," Ashley said. "Will I know when it's too late to turn back?"

Annette smiled, admiring the girl's resolve, assuming it wasn't gutless talk. "I can't say that either. My research hasn't been completed."

"Why are you running with us if you work for Saddler?"

Annette leaned forward, her body feeling hot. When she realized what was happening, she took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "I quit after you were kidnapped," Annette said. "Like I told your friend, I helped Saddler because I thought at most he could set himself up as the tin-pot dictator of some tropical island, or backwoods commune. I didn't think he'd have an honest to God shot at taking over the United States government. I already have one holocaust on my conscious, I don't need two."

"Raccoon," Ashley said, and was quiet. "Um...can I ask you something else. Something kinda weird?"

"What?"

"Are there...side effects with the parasite?"

Annette was sitting cross legged. She rocked back and forth slightly, feeling a dull ache between her legs and in her torso. "The type of Plaga we're infested with increases strength, aggression...it can cause bleeding in and around the eyes, hallucinations, black-outs..."

"Oh," Ashley said. "Is that all?"

"Do you feel it, too?"

"Um..."

"Aroused. Do you feel aroused?"

"Y-yeah," Ashley said. "Since I saw Claire...I think Claire felt it, too, but didn't say anything. I forgot about it because we were being chased, but now..."

"You can't fight it anymore. It's like an itch, isn't it?"

"Uh huh," said Ashley, almost a whimper.

"Come here, we'll make it quick. No reason to speak of it or think about it again, okay?"

Ashley pounced, bumping Annette's head on the bin. A wet mouth clamped over her own, probing her with its tongue. Annette's hands groped, feeling the taught curves of the girl's body beneath her clothes. She felt her shirt being pulled up and straightened her arms as best she could, not caring this was the least efficient way to solve their problem.

Annette managed to push the girl back and restore order to the dumpster, lifting up the girl's shirt to nuzzle her breasts while she herself was groped and grabbed. The hardest part was Annette removing her khaki pants, but the job was soon done and the girl was on her again like a lion on a zebra, licking between her legs as though it would keep off starvation.

Knowing she would be in no mood to help the girl once she came and knowing she would not be given a choice, she coaxed Ashley to lie on top of her, her head still between Annette's legs but with her own slit over Annette's lips.

The girl was wet beneath her panties, which Annette pulled aside as best she could, trying to stave off her own orgasm long enough to get Ashley off as well. Annette began thinking about the long, pulsing gray thing growing in her chest as she felt the wave inside her building. The pictured the pulsing nodes around the head nestling a whip-like appendage tipped with a bony blade. It was enough to kill the mood any other time, but with that very parasite urging her on, it was a battle to keep from climaxing too soon.

When Ashley began to emit high-pitched squeaks and buck her hips, Annette let herself go and came, letting the tension free. She lie back with Ashley Graham's ass in her face for a few seconds before crawling quickly out of the position. The girl seemed about as comfortable with what happened as she did.

"There," Annette said, feeling like the air was thicker. "Problem solved, no harm done. Did what we had to do."

"Yeah," Ashley said. "Can we not mention it to Claire?"

"Up to you," Annette said. "Although if we keep together, I imagine the three of of us will need it again at some point."

Chapter Fourteen.

There were less light sources inside the fort, and Claire felt the acrid sting of smoke from recently extinguished flames in her nostrils and throat. -They're here,- she thought. -They know I'm here, too.- She kept her finger over her pistol's trigger, ready to put bullets into the first sign of movement. When she came to a wooden ladder, she climbed it to see most of the fort's footprint was a circular, dirt area, ringed by a walkway.

The fort was quiet, and still, but Claire could sense eyes on her, and wondered if she had enough ammunition to fend them all off. Even if she did, there was no way she would come out of it with enough bullets to get much farther, and she wondered more about what degrading things she'd have to do in order to buy more bullets from the pervert.

Cold and tired, Claire was far from conditions she normally found arousing, yet there was the now familiar burn smoldering inside her again. It was distant, but each time her mind came around to it, it had grown. She wondered, too, how bad it was for Ashley and Annette, and whether or not leaving them in the dumpster together had been wise.

There was a ladder leading down into the open area, and Claire used it, jumping from the halfway point. She set her sight on a a gray metal door on the other side, which she prayed would open to the other side of the trail.

When she reached the center of the arena, the door opened. All Claire could tell of the person who had stepped out was that they wore a blue dress, and white apron Another figure stepped from behind the first, this one all in white.

Suddenly, the area became lit by dozens of braziers and torches. Ganado had lined the walkway above the pit, but all Claire had eyes for were the two women who had come in from the door, and the chainsaws they carried. They came closer, starting up their saws, and Claire saw their faces. The one in blue was beautiful beneath the spiderweb of hideous scars her face bore. The one behind her, her sister from the look of it, was gorgeous too, only it was the expression she wore trounced her beauty; hatred mixed with anger, and glee, it shone on both their faces.

Claire began taking steps back, knowing range was her friend here, and realized the ground was just muddy enough to be a slipping hazard. The ganado atop the wall made no move to attack, and roared with jeers, taunts.

The woman in white, who carried a red chainsaw, remained by the door, while the other sister circled around to Claire's right. Her chainsaw was yellow, and the scar-faced woman screamed before charging at Claire with it. Claire fired into her chest, and clumsily sidestepped her, noting with new horror that she cared about being shot about as much as Dr. Salvador had.

The scar-faced woman charged again with the same results as before. The other sister shouted something, and the one with the scared face barked in agreement. With her free hand, she tore at her dress, removing it in strips and stepping out of it, then going after her undergarments until she stood naked, her pale body nearly glowing in the muddy arena.

Claire saw the scars ran over her entire form, which was slender with wide hips. Claire also noted the two bullet holes in the woman's chest, which leaked blood like sap from a scarred tree. The woman howled and charged again; this time Claire fired at her legs, hoping to damage muscle and tendons, to slow her down. The shots missed as the woman's speed was now greatly increased, but when Claire managed a last-second sidestep, she stuck her leg out and caught the woman by the feet, knocking her into the mud face first.

Seeing a chance to make a kill without bullets, Claire leapt onto her back and pinned her while she pulled out her hatchet. She was about to behead the scarred woman when the sound of another chainsaw close by made her roll to the side, avoiding having her head cut off.

The second sister attacked again, and came after Claire seeking to drive the saw blade into her belly. Claire scooted her buttocks forward and planted her feet in the other woman's stomach, the blade inches from Claire's chest. She grabbed the chainsaw by the handle and turned it to the side to avoid being cut, then kicked out, disarming the woman and knocking her down.

Now armed with a chainsaw, Claire let the rifle at her back slip off and realized she no longer held her pistol. The naked sister was on her feet, and had picked up her chainsaw. She circled towards Claire while the other one got undressed, allowing herself more freedom of movement.

"A naked chainsaw fight...okay," Claire muttered, certain this sort of thing never happened to male agents. She took the offense towards the sister with the chainsaw. Their blades touched and promptly broke, the motor on one sending the blade sailing through the air like a flicked rubber band.

The scar-faced sister looked to her saw, seemingly disappointed, and Claire used the distraction to bludgeon her upside the head with the saw she held. Claire lost her grip on it, and both tools sputtered to a stop in the mud, while Claire was grabbed from behind.

She ducked low and moved forward, but the other sister latched onto her vest and shirt. Twisting and ducking, Claire pulled away, now completely topless. "Oh, come on!" Claire shouted, thinking this was getting to be a bit much while she put distance between herself and the two women. She fought the urge to cover her bare breasts, knowing she'd need both arms to win. The two women chased her, and she circled away from them , only to be caught in a diving tackle by the scar-faced sister. Claire kicked and tried to roll away, but was pinned face down in the mud.

The woman got off her, but held onto her legs. In the struggle to escape, Claire found herself now without pants. Thinking this had to be some kind of set up, she used the chance to gain her feet again and move away from the sisters while searching for one of her guns in the mud. Unable to find either, or even a hatchet, she ran to the gray door, but found it locked.

The sisters kept up their pursuit, un-phased by the slippery footing, while Claire was wearing down, her lungs and muscles aching. Seeing no way out, the one thing she could think to do was go down fighting, not running, and so abruptly she turned and went to tackle the scar-faced sister. Her shoulder hit the woman under her ribs, and it felt like tackling a cow. The woman moved back only a step, and brought both her fists down on Claire's back, forcing her down.

Blows from feet rained down, then she was hooked beneath the armpits and hoisted to her feet by the other sister. The scar-faced one stood before her, grinning. "Tiempo para sufrir, perra," she said, and punched Claire in the stomach. She bent forward and was caught by an uppercut in the side of the jaw. She saw bright white spots dance across her vision as more blows hit her in the midsection.

When a knee collided once, then twice, with her kidney, she was let go, and sunk to the ground on her hands and knees. A savage kick caught her in the ribs, flipping her onto her back. A stomp to the stomach, a kick to the head, and Claire curled into a ball, wondering how long it took to be beaten to death.

The blows stopped, and she could hear the sisters arguing about which one would get to kill her. Claire used the opportunity to take deep, painful breaths, ones relatively free of foul odors aside from the heavy, wet smell of mud.

The sisters seemed to have reached an accord. One sat hard on Claire's chest, shortening her breath under the press of her mud covered haunches and wrapped slender, strong hands around her throat. Claire weakly grabbed at the scar-faced woman's wrists, but her sister pulled her arms back, allowing the strangling to continue unhindered.

More angry than anything else, Claire soon felt those concerns melt away as black and purple spots exploded across her vision. It felt like her head might pop off and her thoughts turned completely to ones like where she was going. Was she going anywhere? Would she see her parents again? Why was she suddenly covered in warm, wet fluid? The pressure on her neck was no longer there, and the weight on her chest shifted sideways, letting her pull air painfully into her lungs.

Rolling to her side, Claire kept still, aware things were exploding around her. There was confusion on the walkway with ganado both running for cover and shaking their fists as things exploded around them. Claire could tell something good was happening, and wanted to move, but thought it best to keep low.

She didn't know how much time had passed, as all she wanted to do now was lose consciousness for a while. The thought of Ashley and the sound of squelching footsteps made her sit up and rub mud from her eyes.

"See, even without me around you end up naked and filthy," said Ada and she strolled over to stand next to the body of the scar-faced sister, who was missing most of her upper torso.

Claire tried to say something but could only cough. Ada offered her a hand, and she took it, rising uneasily to her feet. "They won't be gone for long," Ada said. "Get your weapons in order and save getting dressed until you make it to the gondolas up ahead."

"The gondolas?" Claire asked, her voice a raspy whisper.

"You'll see," Ada said. "I'll go back and get your little friends."

Claire shook her head, remembering what Ada said about finding Annette. She moved to stop Ada, but the other woman turned on her, putting a soft hand gently over Claire's bruised throat. "Don't," Ada said sharply. "Don't push it. I won't hurt either of them, you have my word. I know you need the drug to slow the parasite's growth and I know you'll need her to show you where the removal device is. I won't get in your way if you don't get in mine. This is thrice now I've saved your sorry ass, so you owe me anyway."

Claire felt her face turn red and she looked down at the mud covering her feet. "Fine, sorry," she said, her voice clearing.

"Don't mention it. One question," Ada lifted Claire's chin up and looked her in the eye. The woman's dark eyes were unreadable in Claire's hazy condition. "You and the president's daughter...is it true?"

"Is what true?" Claire said, wanting to sink down into the mud and sleep.

"Do you fool around with her?"

"It's none of your business."

Ada let Claire's chin fall and laughed. "Careful with those young, inexperienced women. They'll break your heart." She tussled Claire's mud matted hair and began walking away. "Be sure and get some ammo from that merchant next time to meet him. A three-way might buy you a small tank."

Claire watched her leave the arena and found herself more worried about what Ada would say to Ashley than anything else.

Chapter Fifteen.

Noises made inside the dumpster, the bump of feet, the rustle of clothes, were made to echo, while sounds from outside, when they could be heard, were distant and muffled. There had been shouting, and gunfire, followed by what was first thought to be thunder, until Annette said "Explosions." Twice Ashley had nearly left the confines of the hiding place, and twice Annette had stopped her, now having changed her mind about being in the dumpster.

Ashley didn't force the issue, as having Annette touch her now made her skin crawl. Thinking about how much she'd wanted the woman on her minutes before made her feel like it had been a dream, only the taste in her mouth and sweat on her skin was undeniable. Ashley tried to think of her times with Claire, and could only envision how she would react when she found out what had happened.

When the noises stopped, Ashley's desire to leave rose up again, but she forced herself to wait, knowing Claire might have been captured. -Not killed,- she kept repeating, and thinking of the battle in the church, where Claire had done something Ashley thought only happened in action movies.

Claire would come back, Ashley insisted. Maybe with bruises and cuts, but it would be her that opened the lid, soon.

It was not. When the lid came up, light from a nearby sap torch lit the top of Annette's face, which starred up at a gun. "Out, now," came a voice that did not belong to Claire. It was a woman's voice, one that sounded accustomed to being behind a gun.

Ashley shrank down as Annette climbed out. "You, too," said the voice.

The woman who held them at gunpoint wore a red dress with a high slip; the bottom was stained with mud. She had short, dark hair, darker eyes, and a heart-shaped face.

"Annette Birkin, you have something I want. Hand it over," the woman said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Annette.

"I don't have time for stupid games," said the woman. "Your key card. Give it to me and I'll be on my way."

"Where's Claire?" asked Ashley, her fear over Claire overriding her fear of this woman. "What have you done with here?"

"I saved her, like I usually do," the woman said with a sly smile. "She's up ahead getting dressed. I'll send you both on your way as soon as I get what I want."

"Dressed?" asked Ashley, now more confused than afraid.

"I'm not giving you a damn thing," said Annette. "You're Wesker, aren't you?"

"I told Claire I wouldn't hurt you," the woman said. "But Claire isn't here." Her gun cracked, sending out a flash of smoke. The bullets sunk into the mud at Annette's feet and she jumped back, hitting the dumpster.

"Alright, fine," Annette said, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out something like a credit card. She tossed it like a Frisbee, and the woman caught it, which Ashley found oddly impressive.

"What are you planning to do, steal a sample of the Plaga?" Annette asked. "Is the Veronica virus not suiting Albert's needs?"

"I think you'd better get going before I decide you're a liability," said the woman.

Annette began walking immediately, and Ashley made to follow. The woman's gun went up again, now aimed at Ashley. "Hold it, I want a word with you," she said, and Ashley froze. Annette didn't lose a beat, and disappeared into the fort. The woman in the red dress stepped closer, placing one foot directly in front of the other, and forced Ashley back against the dumpster.

Ashley could feel the gun barrel touching her stomach, but her attention was fixed on the woman's face. Her mouth was a tight line, her eyes narrow with disdain as well as curiosity. "Do you know who I am?" the woman asked.

Keeping her head up, Ashley tried not to tremble. The woman mentioned Claire like she knew her, and there was that comment about clothes to consider. Claire had never mentioned a person who fit this woman's description, mostly she talked about her brother. Ashley shook her head, slowly.

"My name is Ada. Claire and I used to be partners. Close partners."

Ashley's mouth went dry. She had little dating experience herself, but was well aware of the drama an ex could cause, even without an automatic weapon.

"Please to meet you," she said, trying not to stammer. "I'm Ashley."

Ashley raised her right hand for a shake, her wrist level with her midsection. The hand was clasped and squeezed, hard. Ashley squeezed back, even though it hurt. "Nice to meet you, Ashley. I'm happy Claire hasn't lowered her standards...much."

"Um, thanks," Ashley said.

Ada released her hand and took a step back. She lowered the gun and looked Ashley up and down, more so than was polite.

"So, Claire has never mentioned me?"

"Not by name," Ashley said. "I'm sure she said something, we don't talk much about her past..."

"Enough," Ada said. "If you don't come running along soon, our dear Claire might think I've done something terrible to you and come running. I don't want to slow her down. None of you have much time. I just wanted to see who was warming Claire's bed these days."

"Hey!" Ashley said, not believing Claire had told such a thing to anyone, even an ex lover.

Ada's smile reflected a confirmed suspicion. "I actually feel sorry for you. I gave Claire a bit of a taste for forbidden fruit, and you, dear, are about as off-limits as it gets for someone like her. She knows it, too. I never took her for the heart-breaker type."

"Claire's not like that," Ashley said.

"She must be. I can tell by how you two act it's more than pillow games, which is a shame because it can't last. Don't tell me you haven't thought about that? Claire I know has, unless she's far more stupid than I thought."

"Shut up. It's none of your business," Ashley said, feeling her cheeks burn. She also kept an eye on Ada's gun and told herself not to get mouthy.

Ada looked at her watch, then towards the fort. She looked back at Ashley and seemed to ponder something. The movement was quick, freezing Ashley in place. Ada's lips were warm compared to her own, and her tongue's entry was violent, assertive. She felt a slender, firm hand around her hip as the other woman's body pressed against hers.

Ashley made no move to do anything, and let a hand slide first up her shirt over a breast, then down the front of her skirt, all while Ada's tongue probed in between nibbling teeth. Ashley only protested when Ada's fingers tenses over her womanhood.

As quick as it came, the coupling was off and Ada took two steps back, licking her lips, then the tips of her fingers. "Seems like you and the scientist had a little fun? It hit Claire earlier. Lucky thing I happened to be around. She's an animal if you pet her just right; maybe I can show you how it's done later."

Ashley felt her hand twitch, wanting to slap Ada, but she was too far away and there was still the gun. Ada blew her a kiss and turned, jogging down the direction they had come from, despite her long dress. Ashley stood still, numb all over and more confused than she had ever been.

Chapter Sixteen.

The deep brown mud became wet, packed gravel the farther up hill Claire walked. She wore only her shoes, carrying her mud soaked clothes tied in a bundle at her hip. She looked up, wishing it would downpour again and take some of the mud from her, which was caking and becoming uncomfortable.

She came to a long, tin roofed shed, with dark windows Beyond it the road led to a large door, set into a rocky, steep hillside. While her path had been free of danger, she kept looking back for signs of Ashley, and hoped the girl would be along soon, as she was in a great deal of pain.

Thinking they would rest here a bit, Claire set about making sure the area was safe. She looked inside the tin roofed shed, the front part of which held dusty, dented lockers and assorted tools. Towards the back, larger items were kept, scrap metal, car parts and the like. Finding a light switch, she flipped it and illuminated the back half of the building.

In the corner was a makeshift shower stall, formed from sheets of tin. A green hose had been run up over the top, rigged to feed over a steel colander.

She took a closer look, and her nipples stiffening at the thought of how cold the water must be, but intrigued by the idea all the same. Wearing wet clothes was one thing, wearing wet clothes laced with mud was another.

Claire set her clothes down and all her gear save for her binoculars. She went to the nearest window, cleaned off some of the grime that had collected on the inside, and looked out.

There was light coming from a metal platform that had been obscured by the roll of a hill. Claire saw what looked to her like ski lifts, but had to be the gondolas Ada mentioned. They were moving, leading over an inky drop off to some distant, lighted area Claire could not make out, even with the binoculars.

She took a look at the gate in the hill, and saw there was raised fresco in the center shaped like a man's face. A bald man with a long beard, who after some squinting Claire recognized as Mendez. His face was a steel plate over a heavy latch, keeping the slabs of wood held shut. One of his eyes was red, like a jewel.

Momentarily satisfied there were no enemies lying in wait, Claire spread her clothes out and prepared to keep watch for Ashley and Annette at the window, but when she finished setting her clothes out, she screamed. Holding her mud-covered chest, she glared at the pervert who had come up silently behind her, and kept a respectful, if close, distance. "Good ta see ye," he said. "Looks like ye made it out o' the village in one piece."

"Do you know how to get past the gate?" she asked, thinking it pointless to chastise him for being creepy.

"Aye, I do," he said. "'Fraid you won't like it much."

"I'll just find another way," she said.

"Nope," he said without malice. "Assuming you can fly, there's only three ways past that door. One, fly over the gorge, two, go through the door, or three, head on around through the woods, which I wouldn't recommend."

"Just tell me how to get through the door," Claire said. "And if you have any bullets for sale, I'd like those too. And let's make it quick, whatever it is."

The pervert cleared his throat. "Price has gone up," he said. "'Fraid you won't cut it on yer own."

She felt her cheeks turning red while a cold sensation settled between her ribs. "No way. I know what you're thinking, and it's not happening."

He shrugged. "Yer in rough shape," he said. "Maybe it wouldn't be so rough with a few extra bullets, eh?"

Claire leaned against a table, her arms still over her chest. When it was clear her withering stare had no effect on the pervert, she looked out the window, ready to wave Ashley and Annette on in when they came Every few minutes she looked back at the pervert, who stood quietly with a blank gaze, the rest of his face covered by his scarf. He reminded her of a porcupine she'd seen once, doddering and harmless, but with an aura of latent menace.

"What the hell are you?" she asked, unable to stand him anymore.

"Me? I'm a businessman, like I said."

Claire's mouth opened, but all she could do was shake her head and look back out the window, where she saw Ashley and Annette walking cautiously up the road. Claire went outside and waved them over, forgetting she was nude.

"What's he doing here?" Annette asked when they entered and saw the dark hooded pervert.

"Guess," said Claire.

"Good 'ta see ye again," said the pervert, giving Annette her a curt salute. "And nice meetin' you, ma'am," he said, dipping his head to Ashley.

Ashley looked between Claire and the pervert. "You know each other?" she asked.

"Yep," Claire said, moving to her clothes and beginning pick them up for a rinse. "He says he's a businessman. He's been trading me information and weapons for...services. He knows how to get past that door over there, plus he has ammunition for sale. I'll let him explain what he charges."

"Down to business, I like it," the pervert said. "I deal in weapons mostly, but my hobby is pornography."

Claire kept her eye on Ashley's face, expecting to see it twist in disgust. Instead, while still looking uncomfortable, Claire could clearly see curiosity on the girl's face.

"I don't get it," Ashley said. "You're creeping around a place like this trading weapons and bullets for...porn acting? How does that work?"

"I have a camera, see..."

"No, like, how do you profit from that? Is this the first time you've done this?"

"I run a highly exclusive subscription service," said the pervert, no trace of defensiveness in his voice. "It's quite lucrative, really. Strictly traditional media, no Internet, as I explained to yer friends."

Ashley looked at Claire, as though about to ask if this were a gag. Claire shrugged.

"So what do you need to load us up with guns and bullets?"

"Ashley!?" Claire blurted, stepping forward.

Ashley cast her a sharp glance. "What? You've been doing it, so it can't be that bad. We need what he has don't we? If you're not going to rob him, what are the other choices?"

Claire's mouth hung open. She had been preparing to reluctantly convince Ashley that flashing a bit of skin was in the best interest of their survival, but now she found herself wanting to talk Ashley out of it.

"There are no other choices," Annette said. "They may look like just an angry mob of peasants, but as you've seen, they're closer to a guerrilla army. The woods are teeming with monsters and traps...more so than the road we've been following. She's right, unless you're going to rob him, ask him what he wants and lets get it over with."

The pervert had kept still with his arms crossed. "Fine," Claire said. "What is it this time? Keep in mind we're all tired and I was almost beaten to death half an hour ago."

"Heh, I know. Got some good shots of yer mud wrestlin' match," said the pervert, patting a camera-sized lump in his coat pocket.

"Hey! That should count, then!" said Claire.

"Nope. You were outside in full view of the public, you had no reasonable expectation of privacy. Had you been indoors at a private event, that would've been a different story, but..."

"Alright already," Claire said. "Get to the point so we can move on."

The pervert cleared his throat. "Well it just so happens you've stumbled into my next idea for a set," he said, jerking a thumb towards the makeshift shower. "How about, eh, you help your pal get herself nice n' clean, then?" he said to Ashley.

Ashley nodded, slowly. "Got a brush and soap?"

The pervert reached into his coat and held up a half-depleted bar of green soap. "Outta brushes," he said. "You'll have ter use yer hands." He had begun removing an impressive amount of recording equipment from inside his coat, setting up a tripod and fixing a recorder to it. He tossed a digital shutter camera to Annette and told her to take still pictures.

"You know how this would look if he breaks his word, right?" Claire said to Ashley, who stepped close to her. She could detect a faint smile at the corners of her mouth, and wondered if the parasite inside her was not lubricating her thoughts.

"Oh, please," Ashley said. "Do a Google image search of me sometime, see what you get. There's even a girl who looks just like me who has her own porn site. Calls herself Assley Cram, or something."

Claire raised an eyebrow. She'd known Ashley had been the subject of many a Photoshop project, but had never heard the girl speak of it.

"How do we turn it on?" Claire asked.

"Oh, right," said the pervert, trundling behind the shower and rummaging around. The squeak of a valve heralded the glut of water that came choking from the hose, hitting the colander with a hiss.

Ashley removed the sweater tied around her neck, threw it on a table next to the soap, and pulled her orange sleeveless shirt off, slowly, from the bottom up, showing her long, curvy midsection. Claire, distracted, shook her head and put a hand under the water, bracing herself for the ice storm. The water was hot.

"Water heater out back," said the pervert, seeing Claire's look of surprise. Ashley was now stepping out of her skirt. She kicked off her boots and slid her panties down, flinging them up to her hand with a deft kick. Her bra was the last to come off, and Claire felt herself tingle.

A clean, pale hand touched Claire's mud caked shoulder and guided her beneath the water, which felt amazing to the point where she could not resist a quiet moan. It became a wince, soon, however as the water found its way over her scrapes and cuts.

As the mud flowed off her and found its way to a hole in the floor. Ashley stepped beneath the water with Claire, holding the soap in the hand that reached around her back. "What happened?" Ashley asked, her lips close to Claire's.

"Got into some trouble, but had some help. I guess you've met Ada?"

"I did," said Ashley, her voice low, barely audible under the babble and hiss of water. "She said some things, but I understand."

"What did she tell you?"

Ashley smiled and pulled Claire close, getting herself muddy as water pooled precariously between their breasts. "The usual ex speech," Ashley said. "This will end badly, she's better in bed, blah, blah, blah."

Claire smiled, but felt her insides tighten at the tone in Ashley's voice. "Be careful around her," Claire said. "Not just because she's my ex, she's a dangerous person working for dangerous people."

Ashley kissed her, then began rubbing soap on her back, then her front. Claire stepped aside enough to let a lather build, free of the water. Ashley used both hands to cover Claire's shoulders, chest, arms, and stomach, careful to avoid as best she could the places where Claire had lost skin, and been bruised. Claire felt light kisses places near the cuts, and on the bruises when Ashley found them, and despite her audience could not help but touch the top of Ashley's head as she knelt to lather Claire's legs and buttocks. She didn't look at the camera, not wanting her face to be seen any more than it had to, and toyed with the idea of calling the deal off and keeping the moment private. -Need the ammo,- she thought. -We won't get far with what we've got.-

When Ashley stood, Claire stepped under the water and pulled Ashley tight. She pressed her lips close to Ashley's ear, affecting a nibble. "He wants porn, give him porn. Lets keep being sweet to ourselves."

Ashley nodded, a sly smile now on her face. She kissed Claire, who felt Ashley's hands on her, wiping her down while caressing her wet skin. She kept still, letting Ashley touch her and feeling the need begin to build and burn between her legs. She set to washing the mud from her hair, letting it down by pulling out the tie, and gasped when Ashley's fingers slid into her.

The girl had gone to her knees again and was done cleaning. She spread Claire with her fingers and flicked her tongue over the wet, pink flesh. Claire used the shed wall for support, as the two tin sheets that made up the stall were not strong enough for balance. The pervert had moved his camera closer while Annette's camera could be heard, clicking.

One of Ashley's hands slid up Claire's body and found her breast, tickling the nipple with her finger tips. Claire began to play with her other breast, letting Ashley's eager, probing tongue fill her with a tension. Her hand fell on Ashley's head out of habit and a need for balance. Toes began to curl as the tongue between her legs ferreted out the sensitive spots, uncovering veins of pleasure that bled through her body.

Claire began to come, leaning on the wall, and on Ashley for support. Ashley made her tongue go faster, eliciting rapid gasps from Claire. When the water suddenly went frigid, Claire shrieked and jumped away, losing her balance and falling on her bare buttocks. Ashley crawled away too, laughing.

"That'll do," said the pervert, chuckling as they collected themselves. "Nice touch at the end there, not enough humor in the business, these days."

The pervert went to turn the water off, and Claire glared at Annette who was still taking pictures.

Chapter Seventeen.

Her clothes were wet and heavy, but clean, and if Claire could not have a helicopter pick them up within the hour, then she would hope for a chance to dry herself. As she stepped onto the moving gondola platform, she thought back to her training, the first weeks of which had been spent dirty and cold on some army base in the American northwest. There she had been taught to adjust her sense of normal, to not think about old notions of comfort. Claire had left the training with high marks, but also with the knowledge that she was not one destined for a life in the trenches.

She turned when she didn't feel the jostle of Ashley and Annette stepping into the gondola with her. They had missed it, and were waiting for the next to come around. Claire held her breath and watched Annette for an instant before the two got on.

Ashley now carried a pistol, while Annette had been trusted with the shotgun. In showing Ashley how to use her weapon, Claire had been reminded of those first hours in Raccoon City she had spent trying to put bullets through the heads of swaying zombies. Maybe one out of every five bullets had found its mark, and that was being generous.

Claire wondered if she had been a better shot then, would she have met Ada like she did.

-Focus,- she said to herself, seeing the end of the gondola ride was near. At the bottom was a metal platform dug unto the side of the cliff. A building with oval windows was tucked into the corner, and next to it she could see a dirt path leading down and around the cliff. She got off the lift and could see the castle they were headed for, perhaps a mile off in the opposite direction.

The pervert had told her that to get past the gate bearing the face of Mendez, they would need his eye. Apparently one was glass, and the door was a high-tech retinal scanner. Mendez, said the pervert, was somewhere at the end of the gondola lift, last he heard. Claire asked what the point of the gate was if the entire area was controlled by ganado, and to that the pervert had no answer.

Claire was pretending to stare at the castle, but her eyes were really on Ashley as she came down the gondola. It occurred to her she would likely not be able to see the girl after this, aside from through a screen or tabloid, and now had the urge to look at her as much as possible. Ashley seemed more focuses on her surroundings, and looked around as though her jaw wanted to drop. Her eyes met Claire's, and for a moment Ashley seemed to look at her like a stranger, but it was fleeting and she winked.

Claire winked back, knowing how strange she must look armed like she was. She saw Ashley's eyes go wide. "Claire!" Ashley shouted, pointing towards something behind Claire.

Five ganado had come up the path around the cliff, three men and two women. Their clothes were soaked and filthy, their faces gray and twisted with anger. Claire caught their eyes and forced herself to see them as monsters, not people. She was thankful for their slinking gait and snarling faces, as it made seeing them that way easier.

Hoping Ashley and especially Annette would have the sense not to shoot with Claire in between them, she fired at the knees of the two men who had taken the lead, causing one to stumble and the other to fall. Calmly, she fired at the heads and chests of the two women, who carried hatchets they intended to throw.

Her bullet killed one woman outright, while the other had her eye socket taken out, causing the hatchet she was in the middle of throwing to go awry and strike the man Claire hadn't shot yet. The flat end of the hatchet hit him, and he seemed not to notice as he charged.

Claire ran from him and swept his legs out with a kick as he changed direction to go after her. She fired three times into him as he lie on the ground, and his neck exploded, freeing the parasite inside. She backed away to avoid the lashing, bladed tentacle, and bumped into Annette, who had come off the gondola, and now moved around Claire to pepper the ganado who had gained their feet with buckshot.

Ashley had come up close as well, as Claire killed the parasite, but Claire kept in front of her while changing her magazine, and killed the remaining ganado. "Save you bullets," Claire said to Ashley, who seemed equal parts relieved and disappointed that she had not gotten to shoot.

Claire went first down the slope, and bid Annette to go next to her, should the shotgun be needed. The path was lit by some torches, and led inward, away from the gorge, to where it sloped down drastically and ended at a large barn, three times the size of the shed Claire and Ashley had showered in. The big metal doors in the front were open, and there were lights on inside.

"Switch with me," Claire said, handing her rifle off to Annette.

"I'm not that good a shot," Annette said.

"I don't need you to shoot, I just want that shotgun in case I run into trouble down there. You two stay, if something happens I want you to run back to that building and barricade yourselves there," said Claire.

She expected an argument from Ashley, but got none, and after checking to make sure the shotgun was ready to fire, she went down towards the light. Inside, the building smelled of motor oil and gas. She could see barrels of diesel fuel had been lined up around the walls, and in the walkway above there were oxygen cylinders and other fuel containers. There was no back door, and no ganado, and just as Claire was about to see if there was anything useful amidst the clutter, something heavy dropped to the ground behind her.

She spun as she heard Ashley shout. Bitores Mendez filled the doorway, and Claire surmised that he must have dropped down from the rafters. He shut the double metal doors and flipped the two metal handles that locked them in place. Claire felt her stomach drop to her knees when he twisted the handles into a crude knot.

When he turned, the light bulb above and behind him made his bald head gleam, leaving his face in shadow. She could see his red, glass eye had caught some light from elsewhere, and was reflecting it.

"I warned you," he said, his voice wet and buzzing. "But you did not listen."

He came forward and Claire shot him in the chest. The buckshot left black, smoking holes in his overcoat, but he did not slow down, or speed up. She fired twice more, aiming for his legs. He staggered and grunted, more from annoyance than pain, and Claire used the chance to run to the back of the barn and begin climbing the ladder to the walkway.

At the top, she heard metal scraping and ducked in time to avoid being hit by an oil barrel that sailed over her head and hit the back of the wall with a slosh and a clang. Claire turned and fired down on Mendez. He held a hand up as though deflecting hail, and rather than climb the ladder, jumped. His hand caught the edge of the walkway and he pulled himself up, his own weight being nothing to him.

-I just a few steps back,- she thought, remembering the last time she tried to move Mendez. She ran at him and threw her shoulder into his hip as hard as she could. She felt him move, but it was to turn sideways, letting her go over the edge, only to be caught before she could fall. She flailed, wanting to fall rather than be in his iron clutches, but found herself hanging over the edge with Mendez's hand wrapped around the front of her shirt. He tore the shotgun from her grip and sent it downward.

"Our gift runs in your blood," he said, grabbing her jeans and tugging them down. "It's a shame you've forced us to kill you before you can learn to appreciate it."

His massive hand groped her buttocks before making its way between her thighs. Gritting her teeth, she tried to keep her alarm from overriding her reason. She wouldn't escape him by strength, even though she kicked at him as best she could with her pants around her ankles.

She noticed their fight had moved them off center along the walkway, which she hoped put her over barrels that had been stacked on their sides. He was making a low, grunting sound as he groped her, and she tucked her legs up in the guise of a kick, grabbing a grenade that she'd hung from her belt.

It was a flash-bang. She'd been hoping for a frag grenade, but this would do better, she thought, and pulled the pin with her teeth, then tucked it down the front of Mendez's coat.

He looked at her for a second, having been engrossed in what he was doing to her, and dropped her upon realizing what she'd done. Her buttocks hit the barrels first, causing them to come loose and for her to fall off the pile while they crashed around her. They were mostly empty, and she was able to jerk her pants back up and draw her pistol.

The smell of gas was strong now, and she moved away from where she was on realizing one or more of the rusted barrels had ruptured in the fall. When there was some distance between her and the barrels, she turned and searched for one of the incendiary grenades the pervert had sold her. Keeping it behind her back, she fired at Mendez with her pistol, catching his attention, which had been on removing his coat.

He jumped down among the barrels. Claire could see his burnt chest from where the grenade had gone off, and quickly pulled the pin on the incendiary grenade before throwing it. He was engulfed in flames immediately, and began pawing at his skin, which came away in black sheets. His human screams became mixed with a high pitched keening sound, like that of a lobster being boiled. He began twisting at the hips in what looked like an attempt to throw the fire off him, but to little avail.

The barn had filled with black smoke and Claire found it hard to breath. She removed a frag grenade from her belt, tucked it into the twisted knot of metal at the door, and pulled the pin as she ran behind a support beam. Mendez had fallen and was crawling towards her, but she didn't dare move into the open. She had her ears covered when the grenade went off, and felt the air rush in from outside, fueling the flames.

-I'll dig his eye from the wreckage,- Claire thought, wanting to be away from the barn before the rest of the fuel containers caught fire. She looked to see the door had been blown open, and ran towards it, but felt her foot catch on something, making her fall.

It was Mendez. He had split in two, and was moving along on insectoid legs that sprouted from the stump of his torso and sides. His blacked face showed a mouth of yellow teeth, which split to make room for two mandibles as the legs behind him became more pronounced and moved him closer.

He was almost on top of her, and as the back of the building began to cave in, she pushed her gun over his flesh eye, and fired, driving the gun in deeper with each shot. He made a watery, yawing sound before his skull came apart, and his grip on her slackened. She reached into the ruined mass of his head and clutched a small, hard orb, his eye, then scrambled to her feet and out the door as a draft of hot air blew at her backside.

Ashley and Annette were moving towards her, apparently just having beat a retreat from the exploded door.

"Did you get it?" Annette asked.

Claire held up the eye and coughed. "Come on, let's go before anyone sees the smoke."

Chapter Eighteen.

After Mendez's eye was held up to the retinal scanner, the lock clicked and the gate slid open, allowing the road to continue uphill, flanked on either side by high, steep banks. Claire did not like being hemmed in, but was feeling good from having killed Mendez, despite the loss of the shotgun. "You're paying for a new one," Annette had said.

The hill the trio was going up dipped before continuing upward in earnest, and just as they began their way up out of the dip, a diesel engine coughed to life out of sight. When it crested the top of the rise, they were all bathed in the greasy glow of the headlights for an instant before the big truck began its descent towards them.

"Get off the road!" Claire shouted, boosting Ashley up the steep bank, while Annette scrambled at the loose dirt in an effort to follow. Ashley grabbed a root and was able to make it up, as was Annette. Claire knew she couldn't climb on her own, not without the risking of pulling Ashley down, and a spring to the door was unlikely, as her limbs were heavy from her ordeals.

"Crap," Claire muttered, drawing her pistol and taking aim at the driver's side of the truck where a ganado leered at her. She fired twice, her bullets making spiderwebs on the windshield over the driver. The truck jerked sideways, plowing into the bank and catching itself on a rock. The front end stopped while the back end came around, wedging the vehicle in the road and stopping it.

Claire let out a loud breath."Come on," she said, waving for Ashley and Annette to follow her. "We can slip under the truck."

They went under it on their bellies and Claire could hear dozens of ganado cursing and snarling above her, trapped in the truck's rear cab. They reached the other side as the wooden cab began to splinter from being chopped from within, and ran to the top of the hill as ganado came pouring out, wielding pitchforks and other tools.

On flat ground, they picked up speed and came to a wooden bridge that led to the castle on the other side of the gorge. Claire saw the long span of wood led to an arched entryway that was unguarded. It was set into the bottom of high, gray stone walls. Claire could see what looked like a pair of cranks on either side of the bridge, near the archway, which she hoped would lower a gate.

Tossing a flash-bang at the host behind them, Claire bid the other two women to run across the bridge. They reached it, and Claire began turning one of the cranks, while Ashley and Annette went after the other. She saw the bridge begin to retract, and while a few ganado leaped to their doom, most stopped at the edge of the gorge and shouted threats.

The crank work had left Claire's arms feeling like pudding, and she sunk down to rest, as did the other two. -We're not safe here,- she thought, and kept an ear out for danger that could come from the archway, while testing her radio. It still emitted a high-pitched whine, and Claire could only pray the jamming device was close by.

They moved inside, and stopped at a small courtyard at the bottom of a series of stone steps that led upward. "Annette," Claire said. "What do you know about this place?"

"It's huge," Annette said. "Old, too, but it's been occupied forever by some fairly eccentric people. We should keep moving. The drugs I need aren't that far from us, but getting around this place won't be easy."

"Let's go, then," Claire said, moving up the steps. "I'll lead, you point me in the right direction. Ashley, I want you to..."

"No," Ashley said. "I'm staying with you. If something bad happens to you, I'm just as screwed as if I was with you or not."

Claire felt a sudden burst of anger which was gone as fast as it came, but made Ashley flinch. "Sorry," Claire said, feeling her skin growing hot. "You're right."

"It's the parasite," Annette said, looking closely at Claire. "The stress you've been putting on your body has weakened your resistance. The side effects will be sharper and more frequent as it grows and bonds with you."

"Delightful," Claire said, feeling like she wanted to punch Annette again. "No time to waste, then."

As they moved into the castle, Claire, while not an architecture buff, could tell the building was a mess, design-wise. She got the feeling that many of its features had been put to give the feel of a medieval castle rather than the function, but even so would give three lightly armed women plenty of trouble.

The opportunities for ambushes seemed plentiful as they moved between towers and down open air halls. Claire saw no signs of life and was starting to hope it would stay that way, until she came around a corner and saw a black robed figured dart away, around another corner at the end of a small hall.

"Hey!" she called out, sprinting to where she'd seen the figure run. She rounded the corner in time to see a wooden door at the end of a high keep close.

"Wait," Annette said, catching up. "This place is more dangerous than it looks, and it's staffed by members of Saddler's cult, not villagers.

"Well then we should catch that guy before he tells everyone we're here, right?"

Claire had a sense their arrival was already known and a trap was about to be sprung, but since her fatigue began to leave her, she felt a sense of recklessness she couldn't shake. She went to the door where the man had disappeared and opened it. Beyond was a giant room, held up by stone columns on either side, with a red carpet leading under something that caught and held Claire's attention. It was a stone statue that hung upside down from the ceiling. It depicted a Greek god or Jesus Christ, Claire wasn't sure which from the angle. Beneath the statue was an alter splattered with fresh, red blood. Something dark and meaty lie in the center, and the smell of a butcher shop hung in the air about it as they moved past.

Beyond the statue was an archway, and Claire immediately regretted stepping past it, even before the portcullis came down with a bang, making Ashley scream and Annette curse. Claire felt the same way, but part of her had been expecting it. She now focused on what was at the other end of the room.

Sitting on a raised throne was a short, pale man with white hair topped by a tricorn hat. He was dressed in purple clothes with gold trim, and reminded Claire of old paintings. On either side of him were two hooded figures, larger than the one she'd seen running. One wore a red robe, the other black. Their deep hoods only revealed two features, reflective yellow eyes and insectoid mandibles and flexed with a slow rhythm.

"Let me guess, you must be Captain Crunch?" said Claire, crossing her arms as she stopped a few meters from the man on the throne. He made no move to show he was concerned, and neither did his body guards.

His face remained blank, but she could tell his red-tinted eyes were appraising her. She almost flinched when he burst out into high-pitched, cackling laughter. "Very funny, Ms. Redfield," he said, after he'd settled down. "My name is Ramon Salazar, the eighth castellan of this magnificent architecture you've intruded upon."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to trespass, but you see this cult of jerks kidnapped by friend here, and I'm rescuing her. Hope you don't mind the mud we tracked in."

"Don't misunderstand me," Salazar said. "I'm pleased that you've come. The village ganado, they are not groomed so well as the zealots loyal to Los Illuminados, and thus are more inclined to give themselves over to baser instincts. I would be mortified if any guests under my care, such as yourselves, were to be, ah, dishonored."

"No, we wouldn't want that," Claire said. "Well seeing as how our 'honor' is so important you, maybe you can tell me how to get this stupid bug out of our bodies? I don't like to get rough with old people, but..."

He laughed again, interrupting her. "I'll have you know I'm only twenty years old, Ms. Redfield. And...available."

Claire laughed, hoping to keep the conversation going until she thought of a better plan the one she had to throw a grenade at his feet and pray the two creatures at his side were mostly for show. "You're going to need more than a mind-control parasite to make that happen, buddy. If you are only twenty, then what the heck happened to you?"

Salazar sneered, showing off his small teeth. He seemed about to retort, but shook his head. "No more talk, just die."

Before she could raise her gun, he tugged a small chain next to his armrest and the floor came away under her feet. Claire fell into darkness, feeling death rush up to meet her.

Chapter Nineteen.

While her time in the weightless dark was short, it was enough for despair to grip her heart. Thoughts of what the freaks above would do to her sweet Ashley in their effort to control the world didn't have time to form completely, but were enough to make her hopeful the end would come soon, and she wouldn't lie long, broken on some dark dungeon floor, while the life bled out from her.

She landed on a pile of pungent straw, and while it wasn't a painless landing, nothing broke. Thinking some more elaborate demise had been planned, she rolled off the straw pile and to her feet, pointing her pistol as shadows that flickered over the walls, cast by a single torch.

She heard a pair of hands clap together and rub themselves, followed by an "Boy, I'm good at this." It was the pervert, who stepped out from the shadows to look up at the hole Claire had fallen through. He pulled a small caliber gun from his coat and fired it up into the hole. There was a ting sound, like a BB hitting a spittoon, followed by a distant scream.

The pervert chuckled and holstered the gun. "That'll teach 'im to eavesdrop," he said, and turned to Claire. "Aye, you shoulda seen me; I sawed out them spikes he had laid here, n' I piled all this hay in the nick 'a time. Lucky the floor's dirt, otherwise yer arse 'id be broke."

Claire holstered her gun and tried to gather her wits. Burning in her mind was what might be happening to Ashley. -They need her,- she thought. -It's Annette who's not safe.-

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked.

"Yer welcome," he said, not sounding hurt.

"Sorry. Thank you," she said. "But I didn't ask for help, so I don't owe you anything."

"I didn't say ya did," said the pervert. "But you'll be needin' some guidance, and I dare say some more firepower. Ye saw them blokes in the robes? Tough, they be, and I expect one 'ill be down 'ta kill ye pretty soon."

"He'll kill you, too," she said, wondering if his gunshot hadn't been to let Salazar know things hadn't gone as he'd planned. "We're in it together now."

"Ah...nope," said the pervert. "He won't bother the likes 'o me, I assure ye. Now, 'kin we get down 'ta business, or will you be making all my hard work so far count fer nuthin' by runnin' off with them pea-shooters?"

Claire rubbed her forehead, now noticing that she was aroused once more. "Alright," she said, amidst a sigh. "What is it this time?"

"Easy, really. I need you to, ah..what's the word...fellate this here gun while I take some pictures."

"Fellate...the gun?" Claire said, staring at him as he reached into the folds of his long coat and pulled out one of the biggest handguns she'd ever seen. It was silver colored, and it shined like a beacon in the gloom as he kept it pointed towards the ceiling. He opened the cylinder before gripping it by the barrel and handing it to her. She took it, feeling the rough black handle and its weight. "Wow," she said, admiring it.

"I know, right," said the pervert, taking out a small digital camera. He touched a front pocket over his breast, causing a small, powerful light to activate and make her squint. "Now, do your best to pretend that's a fella's business, and you're showin' him a good time. I know you ain't in to that, but..."

"Don't talk me out of it," she said, her mouth already watering in anticipation of the awful, metallic taste.

"You can keep the gun after your done," he said. "Normally I'd need a little more from ye before I parted with that beauty, but that bloke that 'ol Salazar set loose 'ill tear ye in half and beat ye with the wet end if you try and get 'im with that pistol or rifle. Granted, I know people interested in pictures of that sorta thing, but..."

"Just...stop talking," she said, closing her eyes. She snapped the cylinder back after making sure it wasn't loaded, and held the gun up, imagining a long, stiff dick was before her. Contrary to the pervert's assumptions, she did enjoy men, just none lately. She flicked her tongue out for a taste test and recoiled. Working up a mouthful of spit, she attacked the barrel with her tongue, the more she licked the more the taste diminished, although never completely.

Her tongue moved up and down the barrel. She opened her eyes and gave the pervert's camera a seductive, half-lided look, trying not to blink as the camera flashed. She got to the top and licked the gun sight, tasting the faint tang of gunpowder near the bore's edge. Claire steeled herself and put her mouth over the gun, clamping her lips around it as she pulled up, sucking.

She took it out and spit on the ground. "I think I'm going to barf," she said, leaning over.

"I know folk into that, too," said the pervert, as he glanced down the tunnel. "But time's a runnin' out. Guess you can owe me one."

"What?"

"I can hear 'im, he's close by. You'll be wantin' these." He handed her a black box with red trim. Inside were the bright cap ends of .44 magnum rounds. "Half are armor piercing, the other are hollow points. I recommend the cop-killers, for now."

She found the armor piercing rounds were bunched on one end of the box, and she pulled six from the plastic rack that held them, then loaded them into the gun which she then dried on her pant leg. Turning the gun's safety off, she stood by the tunnel and waited.

"Hey," said the pervert. "If you fight 'im naked, we can be even for the gun."

She shot the pervert a dirty look and went down the tunnel, keeping her ears trained for the bodyguard's approach.

There had been a tunnel leading out of the pit, which led down to a ladder that brought her up into a more modern passageway, lined with electric lights and piping. She heard what she first thought was a heating system chugging, but realized it was the monster, moving much faster than she'd expected. When she saw it, it had dropped its robe and clung to the mesh ceiling like a gecko, or one of the Licker monsters she'd met in Raccoon City.

It stopped when it saw her, and fell to the ground, getting to its feet. It was an anthropoid, and was covered in a shiny, black segmented exoskeleton. Behind it waived a long, armored tail tipped with a barb. It fixed her in its yellow gaze and its mandibles, the remnants of a human jawbone, chattered.

"Bye, ugly," Claire said, raising the magnum and firing. The recoil made her wrists sting and the sound in the confined space was like having her head clapped between a pair of cymbals. The bullet struck the thing in the chest, and it charged. She fired again, this time the bullet hitting its shoulder. The sound and recoil left her reeling and unable to dodge, as the monster's head connected with her stomach, lifting her off her feet and twisting her into the wall.

She brought the magnum towards the thing's face, but a clawed hand caught her wrist and slammed it into the wall, causing the gun to drop.

The monster made a rattling sound in its chest as the tail came up between its legs to touch her. She kicked at it, but felt the tail barb hook over the top of her jeans and slice them open, severing her belt. She cursed, swatting at the creature's face, but it ignored her to pull her pants off with its free hand.

She looked to see where her gear had fallen and if there was a way to reach it, but screamed when she saw what was between the monster's legs. A nest of gray tentacles had unfurled and were surrounded by a long, gray, penis that jutted upward, erect. She was lowered and pressed against the wall by the thing's hard body. The tentacles wrapped around her thighs and held her still, while the cock brushed the outside of her.

The aroused feeling from before now flared up, and while she continued to fight with her hands, she felt relief as the cock slid into her, spreading her open and sending waves of pleasure up through her body. She could neither fight nor help the creature, as it pinned her tighter and seemed to be able to thrust its cock without moving its hips.

The monster began to make rapid clicking sounds, which became like a purr, as it thrust harder. She felt something warm rush into her as the monster growled, stepping backward and falling to the ground on top of her.

It paused for a moment before thrusting again, and she let it do so as her arms fell away from beating about its head. Her right arm she stretched out, feeling for the magnum. Suddenly it reared up, and she froze. Its clawed hands clamped over her chest and she could feel the dig into her shoulders and back while the thing thrust harder than before.

She felt another wash of fluid go into her, and felt it spill out around her buttocks. Her fingers found the magnum's grip, and she pulled it in but waited to raise it. She could feel herself getting close to an orgasm, the monster's thrusting having driven her to it, and she let it press into her for another minute until she came.

With the alien, burning tension gone, all she felt was horror and disgust, which she answered by raising the magnum, placing the barrel beneath the creature's jaw, and firing. The sound was again deafening, and her face was spattered in blood. More had gone out the top of the beast's head, before it fell on top of her.

Her ears were ringing and she had a headache, and so waited a moment before sliding the monster off her and untangling the tentacles from around her legs. The cock had deflated, and slipped out of her, meanwhile she could hear the clicking of a camera.

She looked to see the pervert standing over her, taking pictures. "Amazin'," he said. "We're even, now, I reckin'. I can even give ye some feminine hygiene products for the mess he left...

"Shut. Up," she said, pointing the magnum at him. "And put that camera away."

"Heh, heh. Told ye you'd need a bigger gun."

Chapter Twenty.

Ashley woke up feeling like she would vomit. She hurt all over, and could not see, but could tell she was tied to some hard, slanted surface, and had been stripped of her clothes.

The sound of steel on flint drew her attention off to her left, where she could see someone lighting a gas lamp. Ashley thought it was a man at first, but when the gas lamp took, she could see the curves of hips and slender, tight shoulders.

The woman wore a dark red tank top, green fatigue pants, and a red beret. "Who are you?" Ashley croaked, her throat dry.

"I'm the one that asks the questions," the woman said. "First, who's been helping you?"

Ashley looked around, but the gas lamp had been kept low, and all she could see was her own pale skin and the woman, who had come to stand next to her. Ashley wasn't sure she understood the woman's question, and she tried to think back. She remembered seeing Claire fall through the floor, then the little man, Salazar, had picked up some kind of listening device, like a trumpet with a tube tied to it. Ashley had been too stunned to shoot or do much of anything before the robed things grabbed her. Annette fought, but was knocked hard into the wall.

As her memory became clear, she was nearly overcome by tears, but then remembered what happened to Salazar. For some reason he screamed, and thew the listening device down, then dispatched the guard that had subdued Annette. "Kill her! Make her suffer!" he'd shouted.

-Claire didn't die in the fall,- Ashley thought.

The woman near her coughed. "Who's helping you? Answer me."

"I'm not talking," Ashley said, wondering if she would tell her where Claire was. She was about to ask, when something else popped into her mind like a lighting bolt. "Wait...I know you! I've seen you before!"

The woman in the beret was the one who'd kidnapped her. She'd been dressed different then, and wore a black mask most of the time, but there was no mistaking her now.

"Took you long enough to notice," the woman said. "I didn't think I was that forgettable, but if you don't start talking, I'm going to change that."

"What have you done with Claire!?" Ashley shouted, saliva returning to her mouth. "If she's hurt, you're all screwed, you know that? I'm the president's daughter, moron. You think you can pull this crap and get away with it?"

The woman had looked almost bored, but now she smiled. She took the tip of Ashley's left nipple between her fingers and squeezed, making Ashley scream and writhe on the table. The woman held her, taking more of her nipple between her fingers and squeezing as tight as she could. Ashley's shrieks started to become sobs, and the woman let go.

The pain didn't go way; instead it throbbed, bleeding warmth into her breast. The woman's hand then clamped around Ashley's jaw, squeezing her lips into an exaggerated pout as her head was turned sideways. "We both know you're going to talk before this is over. I've cracked tougher nuts than you, little girl, there's no honor in trying to fight me."

Ashley whimpered, her jaw hurting, and shook her head until she was released. "I don't know anything, just let me go," she said, her face and mouth now sore.

The woman sighed and muttered something Ashley didn't catch, although one word sounded like "charade." She disappeared for a moment and Ashley could her the clink of metal objects and faint slap of leather on leather. The woman came into view holding a short leather handle with dozens of long, leather strips at one end. She shook it in front of Ashley's face, letting her see the little metal beats at the end of each strip.

"See that?" the woman said. "We both know how this is going to end if you keep this up, with you bleeding and crying, and telling me everything I want to know. Might as well skip the blood and tears."

Ashley gritted her teeth and tried to stop from shaking. She knew the woman was right, but knew she would have a hard time looking in the mirror later if she caved right away.

The first lash came without warning, across Ashley's stomach. She screamed, knowing it would hurt, but not expecting anything like what she felt. She looked down to see red welts where the lash struck her, but no blood. The second lash came moments later, just above where the first had hit, and again she shrieked.

The woman's hand rubbed her stomach where the sting was beginning to subside. "How long am I going to have to do this?" the woman asked. "I've got all night, you know." Another lash, followed by another in quick succession. "See why I wait between them? The second one didn't hurt as much, did it? I'm a pro, kid, you don't stand a chance. You're not being brave, you're being dumb."

"I-I don't know what you mean," Ashley said, fighting tears. "It's me, Claire, and that Annette woman, you know everything!"

She found herself praying the lie was believed, as she didn't think she could take many more lashes. She screamed and could not longer hold back her sobs when the woman began to whip her thighs. The metal tips reached to the softest flesh on the inside of her legs, where the stinging feeling lingered the longest.

"If it were just you three, you'd have been captured a long time ago," said the woman. "I know there's another person running around, and the sooner you tell me who it is...well, the less I'll have to talk about it with Birkin and what's-her-face."

"There's nobody else," Ashley said, hoping the pain in her voice would hide her lying. "It's just the three of us...leave me alone."

The woman draped the whip over Ashley's right breast and pulled it across her chest, agitating the left one she'd pinched. "How do you think this will feel across your tits?"

"D-don't," Ashley said, squirming.

"The woman in the red dress, who is she? Why is she helping you?"

"I don't kno...aieee!" The whip came down on her right breast hard, then a second strike set the other one in agony. Ashley trashed against her bonds, and was held still by the woman's hand around her throat.

"I can't kill you, but trust me, passing out from being strangled isn't fun. Care to try it?"

"N-ngh..." Ashley settled for shaking her head, and the woman let her go.

"I got orders..." the woman said, setting the whip down. She drew a long knife from a sheath at her side and held it where Ashley could see it. "No missing body parts, no visible wounds...means I can't cut up your face. That leaves me a lot of room to work."

Ashley felt the flat of the blade run down her burning midsection, between her legs. She felt something cold and hard between her legs, over the soft hood of flesh there, and it set her into a panic. "No, no, no," she repeated, squirming as much as she dared. She forced calm into her voice. "Look, look, just...I don't know what to tell you, I don't know that woman, just..."

"Stop blubbering," said the woman, pressing upward on the knife, making Ashley shriek. She hadn't been cut, but anymore pressure and she knew she would. "You've got three seconds, then I cut you a new one, understand?"

Ashley let out a high pitch moan. "S-she's a government agent. She was sent in with Claire...her name's Alice, I think. She's got a bunch of guns...a r-radio...she knows your plan..."

The door suddenly opened, and Ada stepped in so that at first only her long leg was visible beneath the red dress she wore. "Krauser, I didn't know you had company."

Krauser looked at Ashley, a sly grin having come over her face. "Alice, so nice to see you," she said, and plunged the knife into the wooden table Ashley was strapped to, making her scream, as the blade was millimeters from her womanhood.

"An inside joke? You two must be bonding," said Ada. "I've got a little problem. The key card I got from Annette doesn't work. I was hoping you can arrange a visit?"

"Maybe," Krauser said, all humor gone from her. "The cultists have something planned for her, I'm not sure what."

"Hopefully nothing too permanent," Ada said, coming closer and looking at Ashley, who thought her head would spin off her shoulders. "Not that I'm objecting, but why..."

"Saddler wants to know more about this mysterious woman in red who's been helping Redfield. Gotta keep up appearances."

"Has she broken?" Ada asked, trialing a finger up Ashley's instep, tickling her.

"No. I was about to slit her pussy open when she decided she'd lie to me. I'm thinking I kind of like her."

Krauser's fingers gently touched her calf, and she jerked her leg away as far as she could.

"Maybe she's just stupid and doesn't know what's going on," said Ada, smiling. "But in case she isn't, ca I have a word with you in private?"

"She's not going anywhere," Krauser said, her hand going farther up Ashley's leg. "If they'd sent Chris Redfield, I might be worried, but his kid sister...what a joke."

Ashley fancied she could see Ada's brow darken, but it lit back up again as she came closer to Krauser. "Maybe more than a word. Must be lonely for you in this castle..." She was touching Krauser's shoulder, and it was like she'd hit a button. Krauser's attention left Ashley completely, and she rounded on Ada.

"I think I can spare a few minutes," Krauser said. "Guess what they say about is true?"

"Depends, what are they saying?" Ada asked, leading Krauser out the door.

Chapter Twenty-One.

Many things raced through Ada's mind as she led Krauser to the top of the tower, and Ada forced herself to focus on what she had to do, rather than why she was doing it. Krauser gave all the outward signs of being human to a person not trained to look properly, but Ada could see how her eyeballs flickered more rapidly than normal, how her muscles rippled in places they shouldn't, and a dozen other tiny things.

-Just fuck her and leave,- Ada thought. -Let her have the Graham girl...-

It was a reasonable thought, and it nagged her as they gained the top of the tower and went through a door into the cool night air. -You should have known from the start this is how it would be,- she thought to herself. -All the pieces were set for this to happen, and you were a fool thinking it would be different.-

When she turned to face Krauser, a cruel thought fluttered into her brain, one she rather liked. It went like this: If something horrible happened to the girl, Claire would think her fairy tale dreams of a relationship with Ashley Graham had been dashed by bad luck. If Claire saved the day, she'd eventually have her heart torn out by blue-blooded tramp, making Claire's place in the world quite clear to her.

The thought made Ada welcome the look Krauser was giving her, like she were a piece of meat fit only to be chewed and spit out. Ada walked as close to the edge of the tower as she could without it looking suspicious, and let Krauser take her. The woman's hands on her buttocks were like vices, her breath hot and wet. Ada felt herself grow wet, and had to admit that Krauser possessed a sort of butch-charm about her, if one could see past the demon within.

Ada's dress was pulled down over her shoulders and her breasts groped. She decided to play the role of high school virgin to Krauser's horny, clueless, schoolboy, and did her best to guide the action closer to the edge of the tower. She let out a few moans when her neck was nuzzled, and sharper gasps when her breasts were sucked.

Krauser reached to her pants and Ada heard something wet. When she looked down, a long, pale-peach colored appendage was jutting from Krauser's pants. "Um...," Ada said, only half expecting such a sight.

"The Plaga," Krauser said. "It's how I planned to get Wesker a sample. I let Saddler infect me with it, and the Veronica virus in me keeps me in control. Saddler has no idea."

"Do you still have a..." Ada trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. Best of both worlds. I figured you'd be up for it."

Ada bit her lip, thinking. She also wondered what people had been saying about her if Krauser thought that. "Let me check it out first," Ada said. Sliding down to her knees. "Can it..."

"Find out," said Krauser, smiling.

Ada licked the tip, finding it fleshy and a bit springy. She took the length of it into her mouth, coating it in spit and stroking the base with her hand. Krauser shuddered, and as Ada worked it, learned it behaved like any other cock. -Too bad you're not going to live much longer,- Ada thought, going over the possibilities of Krauser's anatomy in her mind. She reached in to her pants with wet fingers and found her pussy beneath the Plaga dick. Krauser held onto her head when she began rubbing the soft flesh underneath.

"Ugh...yes...," Krauser said, bending her knees. "God, that's good..."

Ada had been planning to make her move as soon as Krauser was in a rhythm, but now she was intrigued. She sucked slowly on the cock, and worked her fingers faster. It had apparently been a long time for Krauser, as her hands became tight on Ada's head, and she swore while struggling to stand. Ada looked up, seeing her eyes had rolled to the back of her head.

Krauser's body twitched, and Ada let the cock slip from her mouth. She pumped it, aiming it at her chest and watching a stream of white fluid shoot onto her chest, between her breasts. It was thick like come, but white as paint, not the milky, translucent, natural color. -Glad that wasn't inside me,- Ada thought, standing up and keeping hold of Krauser's cock.

"That was amazing," Ada said, moving around behind Krauser, her hand reaching around to keep a grip on her appendage. "Damn, Krauser, you and I need to hook up after this. One more time, then my turn. Ready?"

"Yeah," Krauser whispered.

"Here, I've got a little something with me we can stick under that big cock of yours."

While Ada had packed a vibrator, just in case, it was her gun she reached for. She pressed it into the base of Krauser's spine and fired, soaking her front in blood while shoving the screaming Krauser forward and over the edge of the tower. Before hearing her hit the ground, Ada took a frag grenade from her belt and pulled the pin. She dropped it after Krauser, and while she didn't hear her splat on the ground below, she did hear the grenade detonate.

She looked over the edge, but saw it was too dark to tell where Krauser had landed. Hoping if Krauser wasn't dead, she was at least too crippled to seek revenge, Ada returned to the stairwell and descended, seeking the torture chamber.

Ashley had stopped crying, and while she still felt the aches from where she'd been whipped, all she wanted now was to not be as confused as she was. When the door opened, her head shot up, and she saw Ada come in. The top of her dress hung down by her waist, which was covered in blood, while her cream-colored skin looked someone had squirted her with wall paint.

"What do you want?" Ashley asked.

"A lot of things," Ada said, standing at Ashley's feet. She pulled the knife from the table and threw it to the floor. "And you're welcome by the way."

"Welcome? What the heck is going on!?"

Ada smiled and scooped some of the white fluid from her chest before wiping it on the table. "I let a hybrid-mutant hermaphrodite come on my tits so I could save your sorry ass," Ada said. "I think you owe me big."

"I'm still tied up, in case you hadn't noticed," Ashley said, thinking she shouldn't be rude just now, but was unable to help it. "Were you working with that...woman? Did you help kidnap me to begin with?"

"Yes, and no," Ada said, leaning forward on the table, between Ashley's legs. "Now, no more questions, otherwise I might just leave you here. Or worse."

She felt Ada's tongue between her legs. The parasite's unnatural urges had been building in her since she'd been left alone, and she felt herself respond to the warm, wet tongue, which moved in a familiar way. -Guess I know where I Claire learned to kiss girls...- Ashley thought, feeling the tongue probe her.

Ada was diligent, but was enjoying herself, too, stopping to nuzzle and bite softly at Ashley's inner thighs and around her outer lips. Ada's mouth explored the entire area between her legs, not just the pink strip of flesh in the middle, and she felt her hips grind in anticipation.

She let herself breath, let her mouth hang open as the orgasm built. She could tell it was going to be something like she'd never experienced, but didn't want to make a sound for Ada, and so wanted to rest her jaw. When it came, she clenched her teeth so hard she though one would crack, but like the whipping she'd gotten earlier, there was no holding back the sounds her throat made. She screamed, moaned, and whimpered, all while writhing on the table beneath Ada's tongue. She felt warm fluid touch her legs and knew she was the source.

Ashley lost track of time, but the sea of intensity she'd been jostled around on finally calmed, leaving her panting and sweating.

"See, that's how it's done," Ada said. "You don't have to tell Claire you learned anything from me, she'll know."

"What's your problem?" Ashley said, still out of breath.

"I don't have one," Ada said. "I'm in my element right now, right where I'm supposed to be. You, little girl, are the one with the problem."

Ada bent and picked up the knife she'd discarded. She moved to be next to Ashley's head and touched the cool, flat of the blade to Ashley's sweat-soaked neck. Ashley's eyes went wide, but Ada made a shushing sound. "It's cold. Feels good?"

Ashley nodded, aware of the distance between the knife's edge and her neck arteries. "I bet you're thinking 'This bitch is crazy, and thinks if she kills me, she'll get Claire back,' right?"

Ashley kept still, not daring to move.

"I'm a bad, bad, woman, dear, but I'm no jealous butcher. You looked hot and I thought the metal would feel nice on your skin. Here," she cut the rope around Ashley's right wrist. And stabbed the blade into the table where her arm had been. "Free to go. I'd let you come with me, but like I said, I'm a bad, bad woman. Tell Claire I said hi."

Ada left, her tattered, dirty, yet still alarmingly red dress, swishing behind her.

Chapter Twenty-Two.

The air was cool and damp where she wandered. Claire could smell water, and the stone walls and floor had a silty feel to them which she could almost taste on the roof of her mouth. It took her mind off the experience she'd just had, the memory at which brought vomit to the back of her throat. -Gotta get this thing out of me,- she thought. -Have to get it out of Ashley, they infected her, first.-

Despite her predicament, she felt strangely upbeat. The pervert had offered her not only more bullets for the magnum, which hung off her hip, but had given her a Striker model shotgun, complete with a drum magazine and pistol grip. The barrel was shorter, meaning the range wasn't as good, but in the hallways of what she figured was a sewer, it would work wonders.

She was less enamored with the clothes he'd given her to replace the jeans destroyed by the monster. She now wore a pair of denim cut-off shorts that showed enough leg to get her arrested in some places. The black boots he'd given her that ran up almost to her knee somehow made her look even less modest, but they were water-proof and her feet had been pruning from being soaked the past several hours.

Claire hadn't bothered to ask what the pervert was doing with such articles, or how he seemed to know she'd need them, and now was only grateful that sewage didn't seem to be the type of water this part of the castle handled.

Her radio crackled to life suddenly, startling her. She took it from her new utility belt, also courtesy of the pervert, and brought it to her ear before the voice on the other end came through. When it did, she felt like she'd stepped in dog feces.

"Ms. Redfield, still alive I see," said Salazar. His oily voice tight and angry.

"Where's Ashley?" Claire asked, her voice flat, wanting to upset Salazar.

"We're keeping her safe, don't worry," he said. "I was just calling to inform you that any mercy we had been considering is now impossible. You should not have killed my bodyguard, Ms. Redfield. Had you begged for your life, things may have been different."

She laughed, hoping it sounded natural. "That's big talk, little man," she said. "I hope your other monster is tougher than the one you sent, for your sake. Here's my offer: Let me have the girl and the scientist, and I'll leave."

He cackled loud enough for her to jerk the radio back. "I don't know what form luck took to get you out of that pit, but I assure you it won't happen twice. Perhaps I'll pay Ashley a little visit. You can listen in over your radio."

"You son of a bitch, so help me..." she stopped, hearing him burst into a fit of laughter. She almost threw the radio, but thought better of it. She hooked it to her belt and was thankful to hear his laughter fall away. Taking a deep breath, she moved ahead faster, seeking stairs and passages that led up.

Her ears were burning, and she almost didn't hear what sounded at first like creaking tree branches. She'd come to a large room with a sediment pit bisecting the floor halfway across, in the middle of which was a hole in the ceiling. There were half a dozen cells in the room, the bars on each coated in rust. She went to the cells and saw it had been years since they'd held prisoners, judging by the bones. She heard the creaking sound again.

-Sounds like...crickets,- she thought, remembering warm, windy summer nights where she'd debated Chris on whether or not it was trees creaking or bugs rubbing their legs together.

There was a long creak, followed by a rattling noise, then a heavy thump that made the quarter inch or so of water on the ground beneath the hole in the ceiling splash and ripple. She saw something there, like the shimmer in the air over a hot stove, only coming at her.

She fired with the Striker, the pellets from the buckshot hitting something less than two yards away. Something came flying off, like wet paint chips, as a screeching noise filled her ears. The shape suddenly flickered and revealed itself.

It was a giant bug after all.

The size of a small man, stooped, it was pawing at the wound she'd given it on its head and back. It fixed her with three, green eyes, and opened its multi-jawed mouth to let out another creaking screech. She fired again into its face, obliterating it. She stepped back as it thrashed, each of its many limbs looking like they would cause damage if a blow was struck. She watched it until it stopped moving, seeing that it looked much indeed like a giant cricket, only with a few liberties taken, namely the mouth which looked to be for tearing flesh, not plant life.

There was another splash and following it, the sound of a metal door being forced open somewhere out of sight. Claire could see she was being charged again by something invisible, and fired, blowing chunks off the second insect and sending into its death throes.

Rather than run, she stayed put, looking at the water on the ground for signs of disturbance. Two more came, apparently not intelligent enough to know she could see and kill them, which she did. The third came behind them, and she almost didn't see it, as it crawled along the ceiling, raining bits of plaster and stone. She fired into the green lights of its eyes, which shone despite the rest of the body being somehow bending the light around itself. Pieces of ceiling and bug fell with the shots, followed by the creature as a whole.

When she couldn't hear them, she ran, making her way into another series of passages before the creaking sounds came to her ears again. Fearing she would be surrounded, she sought a place where her back would be covered, but instead found a flight of narrow stairs, which she ran up and through a door, leading out into one of the castle's main passages.

She took a halberd being held by a suit of armor and did her best to bar the door with it. No sooner than she completed this, did Salazar's voice come over her crackling radio. Her heart seemed to stop in anticipation of perhaps breaking, but she smiled upon hearing the rage in his voice.

"You tricky little witch!" he screeched. "I don't know how you got her and I don't care, but rest assured, when I find you..." he seemed to regain some control after a deep breath. "Once the Plaga makes you our slave, Ms. Redfield, you'll enter a hell you can scarcely imagine. I'll see that you experience every kind of pain imaginable. I'll have you sprout new and interesting sensory organs so you can feel forms of suffering unknown to man. I'll..."

"Do you ever stop talking?" she asked, hoping her confusion and joy was adequately masked. "The batteries on my radio aren't cheap, you know."

"Bitch, you little bitch," Salazar sputtered. "When I find you two, I'm going to make sure that girl goes back to her father a broken wreck! Saddler be damned! And you're going to watch the whole thing before the real fun begins with you!"

She yawned into the radio, her tiredness genuine. So, Ashley had escaped. -Good girl,- Claire thought, feeling bad for immediately wondering who had helped her. The pervert, possibly, although if he were that good perhaps she should hire him to get them all out of there, cure for the parasite in hand. -No, it was probably Ada who helped her...but why?-

"Sounds like a lame date," she said to Salazar. "I think we'll pass."

He began cursing again, and she turned the radio off. There was little sense in having it on, she realized, until the jamming device was taken care of. -So, Ashley escaped and that little psycho thinks we're together. I can work with this, I just need to find her...and Annette."

With little idea as to where she was, she headed towards what she thought might be the throne room, hoping she would catch Salazar out in the open, or find Ashley and Ada.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Ashley walked on tip-toes through the castle, her feet quickly becoming numb on the cold, stone floors. She'd been unable to find her clothes, and all she had was the knife Ada had left her. Once she was far from the torture chamber, she began looking for place to hide, knowing she stood little chance winning in a fight against any cultists she might run across. The one thing that made her feel good was how light and quiet she felt moving through the still hallways.

The cultists, she learned, wore long, swishing robes and made no effort to be silent as they stomped through the castle, evidently searching for her. She used dark alcoves, suites of armor, furniture, and anything else she could see to conceal herself behind. Before she left a hiding spot, she would make sure another was close by before venturing out, a practice that saved her half a dozen times.

The farther along she went, the less she saw of cultists, and the better she felt. -I just need to find Claire,- she thought. -She'll know what to do.-

Something told her it was best to stay put, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do so. If she stayed in one spot for more than a few minutes, her heart would begin hammering and she would feel the cold creep into her skin, so she kept moving.

When she heard what sounded like furnace, she moved quicker, and blinked hard upon seeing a hallway that was on fire. The flames were coming from the mouths of two black stone dragons that faced each other on either side of a long hallway. The wall of flames barred her way, but she was able to slip into an alcove just before it, where a painting had been hung. It was warm there, so she stayed and surveyed the rest of the strange room.

It was essentially a dark pit, with the part she'd come down being more of a balcony overlooking the cells bellow. Ashley left the alcove for a closer look, and could see stairs on the other side of a central support pillar. Backtracking, she saw there was a locked door that would take her down into the dungeon.

She thought Claire might have been captured, but didn't call out her name for fear of attracting attention. Upon returning to the alcove for warmth, she saw the painting hung there depicted a row of cells, and what she'd taken for part of the painting in the middle was actually a metal key that had been hung there. Taking it, she unlocked the door that led down to the room with the cells.

It was cold, and she doubted she'd be there long, but something caught her eye. It was a man inside one of the cells. He was naked except for the chains that held him to the wall and the metal helmet he wore that reminded her of a Roman gladiator. She opened her mouth to speak, but something told her to keep quiet. Looking at him closer, squinting for the dim light, she gasped. The visor on his helmet was up, and she saw that his eyes had been gouged out, or sewn shut. She looked him over more, feeling herself tense upon seeing his cock, which hung like a wrench between his legs.

Baffled, her attention was drawn to a lever set into the wall to the man's right. The handle was shaped like a dragon of similar design to the one's breathing fire above, and she realized it must turn the flames off. Or so she hoped.

Licking her lips, she raised the key to the lock on the cell and stuck it in. The sound of the tumblers was loud, and the man in the cell emitted an enraged grunt, his mouth having been sewn shut as well, it seemed.

She backed away the man stepped forward and shrugged off his chains. He extended his arms to his sides, and she saw he wore a pair of heavy gauntlets that served to hold three, yard-long blades apiece.

Ashley turned to run as the man let out another muffled roar and charged. She heard the door come off its hinges, and she moved sharply to the side, hearing it crash into the stone pillar. She wanted to bolt back up the stairs, but at the last second dipped behind the pillar. The man was attacking the other side with the blades, and after a few blows, stopped. She was about to run once more when he came around, but saw he was walking towards the wall. She could see his back now. A brown, barnacle-like thing was set there, and tendrils ran up his shoulders and down his arms, apparently controlling the retraction of the blades on his gauntlets.

-It's blind,- she thought. -I can slip right past him.-

She moved towards the cell, but saw a flaw in her plan. Pulling the lever would make a noise, and he would charge. There would be little room to duck away, and odds were good he'd slice her in half, so she froze. She still held the knife, and thought about stabbing the barnacle on his back, but then he turned. He'd developed an erection since freeing himself. At first she forced back an "Ew," but then felt as though she wanted nothing more than to crawl out of her skin.

She felt herself become violently aroused, so much that her hand went between her legs. -Have to leave...wait for Claire,- she thought, but found herself moving towards the monster instead, her eyes on his erection.

-Kill it,- she thought. -Kill it, and the feeling will go away.-

This couldn't be true, she knew, but unless something was done soon, her desire to let it ravage her would take over. Already she was thinking about how that could work, how she could pick her way up to it and perhaps make it feel good so it wouldn't kill her right away.

She put her wet fingers to her mouth and whistled. The monster adjusted and ran at her, faster than she'd expected, and felt the air move on her skin from the blade passing by as she stepped to the side. The gladiator kept running, stopping when he came to the wall next to the cell, and slashed madly at it. She took three bounding steps, knife held high, and brought it down into the barnacle as hard as she could. The knife pierced the hard, outer shell and she stepped back as sticky, brown fluid came running out like pus from a popped boil.

The monster thrashed, trying to reach its thickly muscled back, and turned toward her before it fell. Keeping away from it, she ran to its cell and pulled the lever, hearing the flames above die down. Now that the beast was dead, she felt no desire for it, but still she burned, and ached, and sunk to her knees, rubbing herself and trying to orgasm as quickly as possible.

She didn't know how long she was at it, but her knees were sore and cold when she heard a voice from above. "Ashley!" It was Claire, and she was only embarrassed for a moment. She ran up the stairs, meeting Claire at the door, and leapt into her.

"Ashley, what the..."

Claire's words stopped as Ashley pressed her mouth to Claire's, letting her know what had to happen. "Take me, now," Ashley said, as Claire lowered her to the floor.

Claire hesitated long enough to look at Ashley's face. She understood, Ashley could see, and wetted her fingers before slipping them in. Having done most of the work already, Ashley was soon coming, trying her best to keep quiet. When she was done, she felt like another person, now that the single-minded desire had left her. "Oh, God, Claire," she said, sitting up and throwing her arms around the other woman.

"Shh, it's alright," Claire said. "Did you kill that thing down there?"

"Yes," Ashley said, feeling like she might sob.

"Good girl," said Claire. "We're gonna get through this, okay? Think about how far we've come."

Ashley let Claire's scent fill her nostrils and thought of better times and places. She didn't know how many monsters an average girl was expected to kill before a brain-parasite took over her body, so Claire's words were little comfort

Chapter Twenty-Four.

Beyond the flaming hallway, the castle became like a maze, and while the cultist attacks were sporadic and their numbers small, the ambushes were clever. Ashley kept close to Claire, and was light on her feet, keeping herself away from the area between Claire and their enemies. Only once did a member of the cult get close to her. Claire was firing into a group of them carrying wooden shield, and one who'd hung back in one of the many alcoves had grabbed Ashley around the waist and thrown her over his shoulder.

She had buried the blade she carried into his buttock, causing him to fall, and Claire had dispatched him with her pistol. After a few ambushes, the amount of cult members thinned to nothing, leaving the only thing to bar their path a series of odd puzzle locks.

One room Ashley solved fairly quickly. There had been a series of paintings on the wall depicting hanged men in groups of two or three. A riddle had been inscribed in a dais, and the paintings seemed able to rotate in a certain sequences. Ashley, after some trial and error, had the right number of hanged men on the wall, making the door unlock.

When they had a free moment, Claire asked Ashley how she'd escaped.

"And she didn't say anything about where Annette might be?" Claire asked.

Ashley shook her head, and Claire could tell there was something she was leaving out. "Did that Krauser person do something to you?"

"Just a few whip marks, some threats. It was...horrible."

Claire nodded, but still saw that it was guilt, not shame or fear on the girl's face. "Well, you said Ada took care of Krauser, so I guess she made us both even," said Claire.

Ashley had been too quick to nod, too quick to talk about something else. Claire wanted to ask what Ada had said or done to her, but settled for touching Ashley's shoulder. Ada was helping her, that was all that mattered. "And she said she needed Annette's key card?"

"Yeah," said Ashley. "I forgot to tell you, she took it back at the village when she showed up the second time. I...I didn't want to say anything around Annette."

Claire let out a deep breath as they continued on. She could guess what Ada had come for, the parasite. There could be no other reason. -And of all the people she could be working for, none of the are good,- Claire thought.

The castle's size was beginning to become impressed upon them, and Claire felt her body begin to lag. Between the beatings and near constant fighting, she felt eager for a three-day nap. When they came to a giant hallway lined with white granite, suites of armor, and long, red tapestries, Claire spied a small wooden table at the end, near a great wooden door. "Let's take a rest," she said, taking the chair closest to the door. She watched Ashley's nude, lithe form settle into the other chair, and lean back.

"So, uh...speaking of Ada," said Ashley.

-Oh, no,- Claire thought. "It's a long story," she said.

"We've got time," said Ashley, as Claire picked her head up from the table. Through the large windows next to them, Claire could see the clouds were letting in some moonlight, which seemed to make Ashley's skin shine.

"Do you really want to talk about this now?" Claire asked, hoping Ashley would be timid and drop the subject.

"Do you think we'll be able to talk about it later?"

The words hit her like a fistful of ice cubes, and she nearly shook her head. "I met her in Raccoon City. The police chief's office, to be exact."

"Raccoon City...you know, until this happened, I didn't totally believe everything you told me about it. Sorry."

Claire waved her hand. "Some days I don't believe it happened, either. Anyway, I found a gun, but it ran out of bullets. I hadn't seen another survivor in days...I lost track of time, I think. It got to the point where I thought I only really needed one round, but then I met Ada. She had ammo. She had a plan."

"On how to escape?"

Claire nodded. "Yes, but it was more than that. She seemed like...like she belonged there. I thought she was crazy at first. I still think she's crazy, but, in a time and place like that, I think you're supposed to be. You know what I mean?"

Ashley nodded, and Claire knew she didn't know. "She...she wanted sex from me in exchange for letting me tag along, so we did it there in the chief's office."

Claire didn't want to look at Ashley as she said this, but forced herself to study the girl's face, which she might never see again beyond a television screen. There was shock, a hint of revulsion, all on a canvass of intrigue.

"And she let you follow her?"

"Sort of...I think I went in front a few times, but yeah, she helped me get out. We, um...did it a few more times, too."

"You stayed with her after escaping?"

"No. Yes...I mean, we had sex a few more times in Raccoon City. Part of it was her payment, but to be honest with you...I wasn't sure I was going to make it, and I sort of...liked it." Her words seemed to get heavier, falling from her mouth only after a great effort to push them out. Ashley held the look of shocked interest, nodding at intervals.

Ashley licked her lips and made a sweeping gesture with her hands, distancing herself from something. "It was a weird situation," she said. "People do...stuff. The only reason people say it's weird is because no one ever talks about it."

-How could you possibly know that?- Claire felt like saying, but caught herself. -Maybe she does know. She's here, isn't she?-

"Thanks, sweetie, but I don't think it was that simple." She took in a breath, to both steel herself and give her time to organize her thoughts. She felt this would be her one chance to articulate it to anyone. "There were practical reasons for doing what I did, but, and you have to know this, that's why I'm saying it...I became attracted to her. She was part of this world I'd fallen into, one I always knew about but never really belonged. I told you about my brother, right?"

Ashley nodded, smiling. "I'd like to meet him."

"My brother is one of those guys they make cheesy action movies about, but have to tone down because no one would believe what he really does. It was pretty dumb of me to go to Raccoon looking for him, like he needed my protection. Anyway, he was a typical big brother when we were growing up. He still is. Didn't want me to get hurt, blah, blah, blah."

"But didn't he teach you some stuff?"

"He did," Claire said. "A lot, actually. I had to unlearn some bad habits in my official training, but what he taught me kept alive through Raccoon and Rockfort Island."

"Rockfort Island?"

Claire swore inwardly and tried not to let it show on her face. That entire scene had been sheer madness, but she supposed she had to tell it. She held up a finger to let Ashley know she was getting there. "Ada was my connection to Chris' world. She taught me some things, too, but she also had me participate. My brother was still missing, see, and Ada was a spy, so we became partners. And lovers."

"Did you..."

"I...I think so. I've learned love sometimes takes weird forms. Not always healthy ones, either. So I stayed by Ada's side until we came across some info on my brother I had to act on. Ada had other plans, and I guess we parted on good terms, but I wound up getting captured by Umbrella, and sent to an island not far from the arctic circle. It was a place Umbrella sent people it didn't like, and where it bred B. , along with training U.B.C.S."

Ashley looked lost, and Claire waived a hand. "It was a bad place. Anyway, I'd been roughed up by the guards and was looking forward to spending the rest of my short life in a rape dungeon when Ada showed up."

"She came to rescue you. Must be she had feelings, too."

Claire shrugged. "The more I know about her, the less I know. She came to spy on Umbrella; I think saving me was a happy coincidence that got her out of showing whether or not she cared for me. So, we went about escaping the place and met a young man named Steve."

"Ah," Ashley said, a knowing smile on her lips.

"I didn't have a thing for the kid," Claire said. "I mean, maybe I could have, in another time and place. He was kind of a weenie at first, but the more I saw him in action...I don't know. Long story short, we ended up in Antarctica at another Umbrella base where Steve got killed. Ada thought I had a thing for him, and before we left she made it clear we weren't made for each other. I guess I wasn't psycho enough for her, or something."

"She's...special, that's for sure," said Ashley, and Claire wondered if she was also holding back on a few details. "I think she regrets dumping you."

Claire snorted. "Ada? Regret? She...you know, it hurt. It really did, and what made it so much worse is I didn't think it would hurt."

Ashley's face deemed to darken. "Do you think it will hurt when we have to go our separate ways?" she asked.

"I've been trying not to think about it," Claire said.

"Well, you don't have much time left."

She sounded petulant, a tone Claire wasn't used to hearing from her. "Listen," Claire said. "If we lose here, I'm one-hundred percent certain we won't see each other again. If we escape, who knows?"

Ashley looked up at her, her glare becoming a smile. "I'm an adult, I do what I want, I suppose," she said.

The door where they'd come from opened, and Claire jumped to her feet, leveling the shotgun at the person who entered. It was Ada. She carried a white bundle beneath her arm. "My, my, look at you," Ada said. "You've got nice legs Claire, you should show them off more often."

"We need to talk," Claire said.

"Maybe. Depends on what you want to talk about." She threw the white bundle to Ashley, who caught it. It was a set of clothes, and when it unrolled, a handgun came out. Ashley left the gun on the floor while she scurried into the outfit; Tight white jeans, shoes, and small shirt that displayed the entire midriff and had a plunging neckline. "You can thank our pervert friend for that," Ada said.

"How did you pay for it?" Claire asked.

"He took pictures. You can ask to see them next time you meet" Ada said. "He would have given me more, said I was a natural. Better than the other local talent by far."

"I appreciate the help, but we do really need to talk," said Claire.

"About what? You still being angry you got dumped, or something else?"

Claire felt her fists clench. "What are you doing here? I can guess you want a sample of the parasite, but who sent you to get it?"

"And what will you do if you don't like the answer?" Ada asked. "You're a babysitter, here, not a counter-spy. Now, I know where to find the scientist who you need to slow the growth of those parasites, and to get them removed. I've also got intel on this place that will get us out of it faster. Now, do you want my help or not?"

"Fine," Claire said. "Lead on. But tell me this, earlier you made it sound like you had your own thing to do, and couldn't be helping me. What's changed?"

Ada smiled and stepped closer to Claire, letting her feel the heat from her skin and smell of the air around her, making Claire wonder what else Ada got for what she did in front of the pervert. "In case you forgot, Claire, you and the girl here periodically become insatiable sluts. I'd like to be around when it happens, that's all. It's my kind of fun, you know that."

Claire looked to Ashley and felt the urge to move between her and Ada. She was about to retort when Ashley broke in. "Sounds great," Ashley said, a wide smile beneath narrowed eyes. "We like fun, don't we, Claire?"

It was Claire's turn to smile, looking sideways at Ada. "Yes, we do. Let's get moving, then."

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Their journey took them through a hallway where one side was exposed to the outdoors. Ada instructed them to be quiet. "They've had time to get organized," she said. "We might need the element of surprise on our side."

Claire let her lead, knowing Ada to have good instincts. A door took them back towards the interior, down a long, narrow hall that led to a dining room where a table had been set with silver plates and cups that held a fine layer of dust. Ada held up a hand, signaling them to stop and be quiet. Claire didn't need the signal, as she heard the same thing Ada had.

Something was making low, rapid grunting noises from a room behind the head of the dinner table. Ada picked up her step a bit moving towards the room, which had an entryway but no door. When she reached it, she stood off to the side, a tiny smirk on her face. When Claire looked, she gritted her teeth.

The middle of the small room was dominated by a cage. Annette had been set on a reclined bench, her arms tied up to either side of the bars. She was nude, and in front of her was one of the cultists, also nude. His gray-white skin, she could see, was covered in blue tattoos depicting occult symbols, none of which she recognized save for Los Illuminados's symbol. He was masturbating over her, and from the look of it, had not been the first to do so.

Annette, for her part, was looking away, toward the floor. Claire thought she looked bored, but when the zealot began to ejaculate into her chest and stomach, she turned her head with vague interest, then looked up at him. "You know, if none of you are going to fuck me, then at least untie one of my hands," she said.

The cultist spit on her, and slapped her across the face, leaving traces of his seed on her cheek. Claire shot him in the head, spraying blood over the floor. "Well, it's about time," Annette "Get me the hell out of here!"

The walls of the room were made of stone with wooden wainscoting around the base. Above it were various paintings, some depicting Osmund Saddler and others showing what had to be relatives of Ramon Salazar. Claire went to the other end of the cage where the door was, and Ashley followed behind, cutting Annette's with her knife.

Once she was free, they were footsteps from outside, and in came a hooded zealot swinging a flail. Ada shot him and his head fell backward, ripped open at the neck by something gray and segmented. The man's head now hung off him like his hood had, and what replaced it was something like a tube, only with insect legs held together by webbing. It moved about blindly at first but gained its footing and launched an ill-aimed spew of fluid in Ada's direction. It hit one of the wall paintings and dissolved the canvas, leaving the wood frame to smoke.

Ada kept shooting, hitting the base of the parasite and severing it from the body it piloted. Claire stepped around the cage with her new shotgun, and watched the severed bug's legs find purchase and begin to scurry. She fired, bursting the largely hollow creature open like a bag.

There were now what sounded like dozens of men outside, all carrying heavy weapons.

"Get ready for some serious shooting,," said Ada, looking through the door at an angle so she could see outside.

A wooden shield, held together by spiked iron bands, filled the door. Claire could see multiple hoods behind it, and knew if it got through, the advantage of the choke point would be ruined for them.

She shifted the shotgun to one hand, and drew the magnum with the other. Knowing the magnum was strictly a two-handed weapon, she held it as best she could with one, and prayed. The gun went off with an ear-splitting report, and she dropped it. The bullet went true, and obliterated the top half of the wooden shield along with the head behind it.

Ada opened fire into the doorway with her automatic pistol, moving forward and letting off short bursts. The robed men were cut down in short order, and Ada used a pistol to finish off the ones she had either crippled or forced the parasite to abandon.

Cradling her throbbing wrist, Claire looked sideways to Ashley, who had pressed herself to the corner and was holding tight to her gun. She was wide-eyed, but her face was alert, not trying to block the horror she'd witnessed. Proud, Claire gave her a wink.

"Was that all of them?" Annette said, having crouched low near where she'd been tied up.

"For now," said Ada. "Were you hoping for more?"

"Shut up," Annette said.

"Where are your clothes?" asked Claire.

"Forget them," Annette said. "We need to get to the suppressant medication now, or it'll be too late. I kept a supply in my quarters not far off."

Annette led them back out into the hall, and through one of the doors at the other end of the dining room.

"Careful," Ada said, moving next to Annette. "That was a breach and clear squad, and I'm sure there's going to be more of them."

Claire's sense of security, which came from having Ada with her, acquired a twinge of jealously as they went. Claire didn't see a man with a crossbow until Ada shot him, and while she was about to shoot his partner who'd foolishly exposed himself, Ada fired on him too, killing him before he could aim the weapon, making the bolt clatter off the ceiling.

They only met one squad, and it was small, consisting of three men who wore ornate metal helmets that pinged when pistol rounds hit them. Their knees and hips bore no such armor, and they were cut down by Ada's machine gun and finished off by Claire who put rounds in their chests, where the parasites dwelled. Seeing the beings wiggle as they died inside their hosts made Claire wonder how large hers had become, and if she would soon be able to feel it inside her.

Their journey to Annette's room took them outside the castle over a walkway overlooking a hedge maze. Claire thought it looked nice, but also saw the tops of cages on the far side and wondered what roamed the green halls bellow them. A large set of double doors brought them inside to what was one of the most ornate bedrooms Claire had ever seen. Silver and gold cups and jars were laid out atop ancient looking wooden furniture. Long purple curtains flapped over an open window on the far end of the room, and in the center was a four post bed that looked to Claire like heaven itself.

Seeing it, she wanted nothing more than to take a long nap, but thinking of the bed led to other thoughts, one's she didn't feel like having right then.

Annette went to a dresser by the bed and took a set of fresh clothes, a white shirt, and black skirt, then opened a pill bottle. She swallowed one of the pills and threw the bottle to Claire. "Take one," she said, and went to tiny bathroom near the door where she started cleaning herself.

Claire took of one of the large yellow pills, and Ashley did the same. They stood quietly, looking at each other, until Annette returned from the bathroom, dressed, and having found a pair of black shoes.

"Annette," Claire said, feeling herself nearly dripping between the legs. "What's happening to me?"

"It's...stronger than before," Ashley said, rubbing her arms. "The pill made it worse!"

Annette shook her head and bent forward, rubbing her stomach. "No, it's doing what it's supposed to, supressing the parasite's growth...You see, naturally, the parasite makes its host want to contact other potential hosts, through sex. Los Illuminados...I, have been making changes to its DNA, so it doesn't spread like that anymore, but the natural mechanism is still there...like a vestigial instinct. The parasite thinks it's dying, so it's doubling up on its efforts to reproduce."

"So it's not contagious," said Ada.

"No. Like I said, it's been altered."

Ada was rubbing her hands together, looking at Claire and Ashley. "So it's time, then?"

Claire felt herself starting to panic, despite this having been a fantasy of hers for some time. "Ada..."

"You want my help, don't you? There should be something in it for me."

"Claire, just..." Ashley came forward quickly and took Claire by the shoulders, pushing her towards the bed. She was hesitant, yet forceful, and helped her move her various weapons to the floor before falling with her onto the bed.

The bed was as comfortable as it looked. The mattress took her in like a cloud, while Ashley nuzzled her neck and slid her hands under her shirt. She felt Ada pull off her boots and suddenly there was no fighting the urge that had crept over her. She gripped Ashley's buttocks through her jeans and pulled the girl up, rolling her onto the bed with her.

Their movements were clumsy at first, their eagerness leaving no room for the normal give and take, the subtle unbalance of power that let two lovers intertwine. It turned out Ashley was the one being spurred harder, and so she took the lead once most of Claire's clothes were off, kissing, nuzzling, and sucking at her exposed flesh. Claire wallowed in it, letting the sensation both build up and cool the urge she felt.

When Ashley pulled back to tug off Claire's shorts, Ada sprung. Claire lay with her arms slack, letting Ada kiss her, driving her tongue deep while her arms snaked around her head and torso. Her shorts were gone, along with her underwear, and when Ashley's wet tongue found her center, she brought her hands up to clasp Ada and returned the kiss with force.

Ada slid out of her dress with the practiced grace of someone taking off their hat and was straddling Claire, who felt her moisture through her panties as they pressed against her chest. Feeling Ashley's tongue inside her, Claire's mouth began to water while Ada's fingers played through her hair.

With an eager, resigned moan she slid Ada closer to her face and tugged aside her underwear, slipping her tongue into the pink folds of flesh. Ada's scent hit her like a bucket of water, making her feel warm and like she was somewhere else.

Ada supported herself with the help of Claire's hands, but no sooner had she settled into a rhythm with Claire's tongue did she move off and crawl to where Ashley had been licking diligently. Claire picked her head up and watched the two regard each other a moment before their tongues met. Ada seemed to be tasting Ashley, licking around her face where Claire's fluids glistened in the moonlight from outside. Claire's hands clenched and her body shook, anticipating what they might do.

When they looked at her, Ashley's face sought approval while Ada's was pleased with itself. Ada, still smiling, took Ashley lightly by the chin and turned her head aside and down so she was on her back, her feel perpendicular to the bed. She removed her panties, threw them on Claire, and positioned herself over Ashley, putting her head between the girl's legs.

Claire sat up, now aching for contact as she watched her lovers together. She couldn't see Ada's face for Ashley's thigh, but could see the girl's eyes glaze as she gripped the other woman's buttocks and sent her tongue into her.

She felt almost dizzy, not knowing where to look. Each line was familiar to her, each had given her pleasure like nothing else had, and seeing them together was something her mind found hard to accept. She sat up completely and shifted to her knees, wetting her fingers in her mouth before sticking them between her legs. It wasn't as good as either of their hands or mouths, but kept her from crawling out of her own skin.

From the corner of her eye she saw Annette, sitting on the floor. Her skirt was hiked up and she was running herself as though she were trying to get grout from a bathtub. Claire looked back when she heard Ashley cry out. She watched her come, saw her hands grip Ada's buttocks and her head pull back for air. Ada didn't let up and became more aggressive, leaving Ashley to writhe beneath her.

When it was over for her, Ada rolled off her to face Claire while lying on her side. They let Ashley catch her breath, and to Claire's surprise, Ashley poured herself over Ada, cupping one of the woman's breasts. Ada whispered something to her, then they both looked to Claire with mischievous expressions.

They both crawled forward, forcing Claire back to the position she'd been in. She felt their weights on top of her, Ashley's being slightly heavier, but softer. Ada's lips met hers first, but ceded to Ashley's when they nudged. For a brief moment, the three mouths touched and Claire's senses were overwhelmed by the presence of her two women, who's fingers had also found their way between her legs.

"Here, I'll show you how to really make Claire come," Ada said, and slid her body down, positioning herself so she was licking Claire. Ashley slid down, too and watched intently as Ada worked, using her fingers and tongue to probe, tease, and thrust.

Ada hadn't been making idle talk. She knew what Claire liked and how she liked it and it wasn't long before Claire felt the dam break and the flood waters rip everything apart, sending them every which way. She signaled she was coming with a sharp moan, and felt Ashley move. Her eyes were scrunched tight, but she could feel the girl looking at her, seeing how she contorted under Ada's affection.

When her eyes opened, she saw Ashley. Her expression seemed blank at first, but there was amusement there, hidden and keeping the company of jealously perhaps. "You should do her," Claire heard herself say.

"She likes to watch us," Ada said. "Let's give her a show."

Ada splayed herself out, letting Ashley get between her legs and lick her again. Ada let herself flop back, hanging off the bed slightly, as she toyed with her breasts. Claire watched, entranced, until Ada came, clearly harder than she'd anticipated. Claire had to smile, watching her fight back the urge to cry out as Ashley moved her head, twisting her tongue.

When it was over, Claire settled herself higher on the bed, near the pillows, and watched the other two catch their breaths by their feet. "Annette," she said. "How much time do the drugs buy us?"

"A little over twelve hours...maybe, I don't know."

-Twelve more hours,- Claire thought, wishing for nothing more than to be able to sleep now with Ashley and Ada on either side of her.

Chapter Twenty-Six.

They used the bathroom in Annette's quarters to clean and refresh themselves. Ada informed them that the machine they sought, which would remove the parasite from their bodies, was located on an island a few miles away.

"How does it work?" Claire asked, only now realizing that something the size of the creature's she'd seen being taken out of her body would constitute major surgery in normal cases.

"It's not what you're thinking," Annette said. "It's a bit like an x-ray machine. It doesn't actually remove the parasite, but rather kills it and causes it to break down. Hopefully our bodies will absorb the detritus with minimal complications."

Claire frowned, not liking anything Annette said. "So the question is, how do we get to the island?"

"A question I've already answered," said Ada. "I was planning on going there eventually, and there so happens to be a few small boats to the north of the castle."

"I know where you mean," Annette said. "It's only accessible from an elevator installed at the top of that damned tower."

"An the cult knows it," said Ada. "Which means they'll probably stop looking for us and lock down that tower."

Claire hated to voice aloud the thought she'd been having, but couldn't hold it any longer. "How do we know Saddler hasn't sabotaged the machine?" she asked.

"We don't, but I don't think he will," said Annette. "Saddler is the host of the main control Plaga, but you'll notice that hosts like Mendez and Salazar aren't exactly drones like the others."

Ada shrugged while Claire and Ashley nodded. "You remember when I said these parasites occurred in nature, and that we've been tinkering with them? Well, nothing is perfect, and every so often one mutates into a control Plaga that doesn't obey Saddler's commands, so they need to remove it."

"Wouldn't he just kill the host?" Claire asked.

"He would in most cases, but he has plans for infecting quite a few high value targets, such as Ms. Graham, here. I'd say she's infected with a control Plaga, given what he intends to do with her. The suppressor drugs might interfere with its development, and she might never be under Saddler's control."

"I still want it gone," said Ashley, her hand over her chest, rubbing it. "Thinking about it in there makes me want to puke."

Ada and Claire began taking count of their ammunition, and while it was ample, Ada didn't think it would last beyond the castle. "What's the island like?" Claire asked. "Guarded, I assume."

"Quite," Annette said. "It's a former gulag. Saddler infected the prisoners, guards, and some dock workers. That's not counting the experimental Plaga."

Claire's mouth was dry. "Do they have guns?"

"Some, but not many, I think," she said. "Part of how Saddler keeps this all under the radar is he doesn't deal in weapons. No drugs, either, so search me on how he pays for all this."

"That's good news," said Ada. "If they're coming at us with sticks and stones, all we need to worry about it getting more bullets."

Claire had a bad feeling about how that would happen, but said nothing as they went through the castle halls. It wasn't long before they found themselves in a large, bizarre room. One the one end as they came in was a giant statue of Salazar standing between a pair of pillars with his hands dangling at his sides. Before him was a stone bridge over reflecting pools that led to a door.

"Is that a...what is that supposed to be?" Ashley said, taking stock of the statue as the other women moved onto the bridge. Claire looked and saw what she was talking about. The thirty foot high likeness of Salazar was not a statue per se, in that seemed to have mechanical joints.

"Maybe they had to build it here in pieces," Claire said.

"Looks like he's overcompensating," said Ada when they were halfway across the stone walk. Claire was still casting backward glances at the figure when her gaze was drawn off its smug, unmoving face.

"Heads up," she said, seeing a man in a robe running behind the statue's head. There was a scaffolding behind the statue, and the room was suddenly filled with a loud clunking creak of a sound. Claire felt it in her feet and watched as the Salazar statue lurched forward on its leg joints.

"Run!" she shouted, and didn't have to repeat herself as the columns to their sides began to crumble and fall.

The statue's feet plodded along while the arms swung back and forth to keep balance. They made it to the door and found it locked. Claire now saw the improbable automaton was meant to crush them, and while she swung at the pad lock on the door with her hatchet she wondered if the pills she'd taken weren't really hallucinogens. The lock broke under a hard back blow from the hatchet, and the door swung open.

Terrified and a little confused, they moved outside where a long wooden bridge awaited them. They bolted across it, then ran faster as the machine at their heels broke through the wall. Claire felt the wooden bridge start to collapse, and felt her will to live spurred by the notion of how absurd the cause of her death would be if she fell.

The bridge led to the base of a squat stone tower, and getting to it involved one final leap, one Claire and Ada made, and Ashley and Annette nearly didn't. As she was pulling Ashley up, Claire saw the giant Salazar fall into the gorge, out of sight.

"Well...," Ashley said, panting. "That was weird."

They all looked to Annette for some explanation for the odd trap, and she just shrugged.

The tower they were near was skirted by a stone walkway, which they all took to the east side and saw another bridge leading over a chasm to a taller tower. At the bottom of that one, Claire could see over two dozen robed figures beneath torch sconces. A few were pushing something along towards the bridge, while above them she could see a dozen or so men with crossbows.

"They know we're here," said Ada. "And there's no going back."

"Claire, I want to help," said Ashley.

Claire shook her head and touched Ashley's should, guiding her back around the tower. "I'm going up top with the rifle. Stay here and guard Annette."

"I think that's a cannon," Ada said, interrupting what would have been an argument from Ashley. "Keep them from firing it, and I'll hit them from close range."

The stairs on the tower's west side led to the top, and Claire bounded up them, fearing what the cannon would do. She nearly had her head taken off by a scythe. She'd ducked, feeling the air from the attack move her hair, and fired the rifle from her hip. The bullet hit the robed man in the chest and he fell over the side of the tower, onto the stairs, where he came to rest at Ashley's feet

Two more men came at her, each pale with purple tattoos on their faces. One rushed her before she could shoot, and grappled with her. His mouth split open and a pair of insectiod mandibles snapped at her face, but she twisted her body and sent him down the stairs.

Ashley was firing her gun into the body of the first man, who was now being torn apart by the creature inside in its effort to escape. Claire's attention had been drawn away for a second too long and she felt something cut into the back of her shoulder.

Luck had saved her from a broken bone and torn muscle. The other zealot who'd swung his flail had over-extended the blow, hitting the apex of her should with the chain and not the spiked ball, so it did little more than scratch her. Claire hit him in the face with the rifle's butt-stock, then touching the barrel to his neck, fired.

Ashley had managed to kill the parasite as it hatched from its dead host, and had put enough bullets into the second zealot to keep him from moving. She looked up at Claire, shaking, but with an uneasy smile on her face. Claire winked at her, and reloaded the rifle before running to the edge of the tower.

The cannon had been dragged into position and was now pointed directly at their tower. It was surrounded by hooded men, one of whom was turning a crank on the stand the cannon rested on, raising it so it pointed higher.

Claire fired at the man on the crank, and the bullet bounced off the cannon a foot from his head. She adjusted her aim, and fired once more, this time splattering his comrades in blood and bone. Next she aimed at the figure behind the cannon who wore a red robe and deer skull helmet. Her first shot went wide, so did her second. The third hit him in the chest, just bellow the neckline, and he staggered back.

She heard a thwump and the area around the cannon exploded into a cloud of wood splinters. -Ada's grenade launcher,- she thought. -I hope it doesn't...-

The cannon discharged, and unfortunately, hadn't been knocked too far out of alignment by the grenade to miss the tower. Claire felt it shake, and her ears ring while she coughed from the cloud of dust that had been kicked up. She waited for it to clear, praying the bridge wouldn't collapse, or the cult wouldn't try to destroy it.

She swore, seeing that was now what they intended to do. The cultists who had survived the explosion had taken up axes and other tools and were chopping at the wood. Claire rushed down the stairs, handing the rifle and some bullets for it off to Ashley and telling her to try and shoot the men on the rampart above them. "Not towards us, no matter how bad it gets!" she added before running around the front with her shotgun in hand.

"Come on!" Ada shouted, setting her grenade launcher down and leveling her machine gun, which hung from her shoulder by a strap.

A line of zealots came to met them, not caring that their fellows were busy trying to destroy the bridge beneath their feet. One blast from the shotgun felled two, while Ada's gun took the other three. Some of the saboteurs threw their tools at them, but Ada ducked them nimbly while Claire held up the shotgun to deflect an ax.

The shotgun's drum magazine was large enough for Claire to not worry about reloading, if she was careful with her shots and there weren't more cultists waiting to reinforce the crew outside.

To her side, Ada's machine gun clicked empty as a zealot ran at her. She sent him over the side of the bridge with a well-aimed kick, while Claire continued to pepper the the zealots chopping at the bridge. The one's she didn't drive back died, and Ada was able to reload and aim for the parasite's that escaped their hosts' dying bodies.

When they gained the base of the tower, Claire looked up, wondering why she wasn't dodging crossbow bolts, and why they hadn't come sooner. Looking back, she saw Ashley and Annette coming down the bridge, Ashley holding the rifle with ease and Annette carrying the pistol.

"I got 'em!" shouted Ashley, her face white and wide with nervous energy. "I missed a few times, but one you figure out where the stupid bullets are going, it's easy!"

No cultists came out to replace their massacred fellows, and Claire looked up to see one hanging over the edge of the rampart. "Nice shooting," Claire said, happily surprised.

"She's full of hidden talents, it seems," said Ada, stepping over a robed body. "I'm out of shells for the launcher, so that rifle is our only real long range option now."

"The scope's messed up on it," Claire said.

"We don't have time to sight it in. Let's get to the top of this tower and hope this was their last surge," said Ada.

Inside the tower, Claire saw that it was open in the middle beside a newly built freight elevator shaft, at the bottom of which stood Salazar and his remaining bodyguard.

"Typical Americans, solving all your problems with guns," he said. "Still, I should appla..aye!"

He screeched when Ashley's rifle cracked, the bullet pinging off the metal above his head. The four women all began firing, but Salazar twisted behind the bodyguard who turned his back to them, his robe becoming riddled with holes. Claire pulled the magnum as the elevator rose and fired, making everyone flinch as it put a hole in the elevator door. Not wanting to waste the rounds on blind shots, she refreshed the chamber and holstered the weapon.

"Could you not shoot that thing inside ever again?" said Annette, who had both hands over her ears.

"Did you say something?" Ada asked, her voice loud

"Hilarious," said Claire. "C'mon, lets not give him time to pull any more of his tricks.

They went running up the stairs, encountering no more zealots as they gained the top. A semi-clear line of fluid had been left trailing from the elevator over a wooden catwalk that led up the back side of the tower to a large, red oak door.

"Hold up," said Annette before they entered. "Be ready, you saw what Mendez was like, Salazar is worse."

"My life would be easier with Salazar dead, so let's get him before he decides to escape or destroy the boats," said Ada.

Claire licked her lips and took a deep breath, remembering the fight with Mendez. "Alright, let's go."

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

"Hang back, and be careful with that rifle," Claire had said before opening the large door at the top of the tower. No sooner had Ada and Claire stepped inside, than a portcullis came sliding down, burying itself into slots in the stone floor. Claire spun around and reached for Ashley momentarily before trying to raise up the bars.

"Forget it," shouted Salazar, who stood on a raised platform in the center of the large, cylindrical room. Claire turned, seeing the trap they'd charged into.

Behind Salazar and his bodyguard was what appeared to be a giant gray flower with four petals that pulsed with blue veins. On either side rolled two, massive orange eyes. Where the flower's pistil would be, were slowly waiving, gray-white tentacles.

"This is the end for you," said Salazar, as he extended his arms and let the tendrils from the creature at his back envelope him and his body guard, raising them up like chess pieces to be enveloped in the petals.

"Give me the magnum," said Ada, and without thinking to question her, Claire did. "You run distraction while I look for a weak spot."

Claire was about to deliver instructions to Ashley, or perhaps take a clear view of her one last time, when something shot from between the petals like a piston, spraying fluid all about the room. The force of the thrust caused the stone floor to come loose in front of them, and collapse, making a deep pit between them and the creature. Claire was knocked off her feet coughed amidst stone dust, as something loomed over their heads.

The one human feature she could make out was an eye, twice the size of her head that rolled about, looking for something to focus on. It was set into something that suggested a head, that also held two jawbones, separated in the center and fashioned to be piercing blades.

A familiar cackling laugh could be heard as the dust cleared. Within the petals had emerged a cocoon of bones, which spread open like fingers to reveal the likeness of Salazar, gray and naked, half his body melded with the creature. His laugh was cut off by the report from the magnum, and now Salazar was missing a chunk from his shoulder.

The great head, supported by a long band of muscle and exposed bone, swung sideways and Ada cried out, being knocked off her feet and into the wall. -Distract it,- Claire thought, getting up and seeing the bone cocoon close around a writhing Salazar.

She fired at the long part of the one-eyed monstrosity that had bowled Ada over, doing it little damage, but getting its attention. It turned and darted, seeking to grasp her in its half-formed jaws. The only way she could move and avoid the attack was to roll into the pit, where she skinned her palms and knees on the rocks bellow.

The pit was in fact a storage area. The body of the giant Plaga had grown, fungus-like, into the stone, weakening the upper floor. Amidst the dust, Claire could see movement. Plaga the size of house cats came skittered towards her on thin legs. She fired, but they were too spread out, and leapt at her, biting at her with sharp mouth parts.

She shook them off and ran, hoping to get them in a cluster as they gave chase. Firing into the group of them, she remembered her job, and took one the last grenades from her belt and tossed it up to where Salazar hid. The grenade went off, making the long neck quake. It turned, but seemed unable to retract or bend to where it could reach her. Claire didn't think she had enough shells to kill both it and fend off the bugs attacking her, but fired at the neck all the same, hoping Ada could do something.

She heard Ashley scream and called out to her, but a report from the magnum made the thing above quiver. She could now hear what at first sounded like Salazar howling, but it became a series of gurgles as the neck twitched more violently before dropping.

The magnum went off one more time, and she could hear a voice she didn't recognize, along with Ada's.

"Ada!" she shouted, looking for a way up. Not finding one she liked, she resorted to climbing up the dead neck, using the vertebra as hand holds. The bone cocoon around Salazar hung open, and inside was his body, shriveled and coated in fluids of varying colors. His malformed face stared blankly away from her, and she looked away while getting over to where the floor had remained solid.

Ada was holding the magnum up, pointing it towards Ashley who appeared to be in the grip of someone Claire thought looked familiar. It was a muscular woman in a tank top, who wore a red beret that covered her short blond hair.

"You, come over here," said the woman, and Claire obeyed.

The woman clearly feared she would be shot by the magnum and was holding Ashley well in front of her, twisting Ashley's arm painfully behind her back. "Let her go," Claire said.

"Not happening," said the woman. "I just wanted a closer look at you. Claire Redfield, is it?"

Claire gritted her teeth, knowing the woman held all the cards now. Annette was lying on the ground, not moving. "I'm Claire. Who are you? G.I. Jane?"

"Jacqueline Krauser," said the woman, pulling Ashley higher. "I don't have a problem with you, just a mission. The bitch in the red dress on the other hand, I owe some serious payback."

"Careful, Krauser, I wouldn't mind blowing the girl's pretty little head off if it meant hitting you."

Claire turned the shotgun at Ada. "Ada..."

"Relax," she snapped. "I suppose the jig is up, then?"

"Oh, it's up alright. I told Wesker about you're little stunt," said Krauser.

"Wesker!?" Claire's attention briefly left Ashley for Ada.

Krauser chuckled. "You're losing friends fast, Wong. If I shoot you, you'll shoot me, and your girlfriend will shoot you. I might survive, but I don't know about you."

"I'd like to see you regenerate your head," Ada said, raising the magnum higher, aiming it at Krauser's head through Ashley's. "You're also assuming Wesker didn't order you killed."

Another derisive chuckle from Krauser. "Nice try, bitch. I don't know who you're really working for, but I intend to make you tell me before this is all over." She began to back up, towards the drop behind her. "I'm taking the First Daughter here to the island, along with the scientist."

She sidestepped and stooped to pick up Annette using one lithe, ropey arm. Claire knew Annette had to weight at least one-hundred and twenty pounds, but Krauser moved her like a half empty sack of grain. "What the hell are you? Another freak?" Claire asked.

"I'm the one that kidnapped her the first time. Looks like I got you again."

With that she stepped backward and fell over the edge, making Ashley scream. "Ashley!" Claire called out.

"Hmph," Ada snorted. "Thought I'd killed her. Must be losing my touch."

"Who the hell was that?" Claire asked.

"Jacqueline Krauser. She used to be in one of the groups that got merged into the BSAA. Seems she's become some kind of Veronica-Plaga hybrid."

Claire shook her head and aimed the shotgun higher at Ada. "She said you work for Wesker. Come clean. Now. With all of it."

"You're not going to shoot me," Ada said, and turned her back.

Claire lowered the weapon and walked to catch up, slipping her arm around Ada's neck as casually as she could, and pulled back. Ada hadn't expected it, and pulled at Claire's forearm while kicking back at her with her foot. Claire noted with some satisfaction that the kicks were aimed at her crotch, meaning Ada was more used to fighting off men than women. Claire dropped the shotgun and put her knee into Ada's lower back, twisting her around and taking her to the ground. She moved quickly to try and get control of Ada's arms, but was caught in the jaw by an elbow that stunned her, allowing Ada to wiggle out from underneath.

On her feet now, Ada glared before flashing a grim smile and divesting herself of her weapons. Claire did the same.

"So we're doing this now?," said Ada. "I didn't think you had this kind of time to waste, but alright."

"We don't have to waste any time if you tell me what the hell you're doing working for Wesker. I assume he wants to mess around with the parasite?"

"All I know is his checks don't bounce," Ada said. "And if you had been paying attention, you'd see I'm not really working for Wesker, having tried to kill his employee so I could save your little girlfriend some discomfort."

"Then tell me who you're really working for," Claire said.

"I don't think I will."

Claire rushed forward, feigning clumsiness. Ada moved to the side, as Claire thought she might, and so she turned her tackle into a running leg sweep, which caught Ada's legs and put her on the ground. Claire got on top of her as fast as she could, knowing she wouldn't win a striking contest, but could beat Ada in a grapple.

She hit Ada in the stomach to draw her hands from her face, then tried to slip a punch to her chin. Ada blocked the stomach blow with one hand while guarding her face with the other, and shot back at Claire's midsection with the arm she'd kept over her own. She took hold of Claire's shirt, and pulled her forward, getting a glancing blow on Claire's jaw with the hand she'd kept to block her own face.

Claire grabbed Ada's arm and sought to turn her over. She half succeeded, but Ada got out from underneath her, and instead of rising to her feet slipped an arm around Claire's head and pulled her down into a headlock, where she tucked short blows up into Claire's face.

She took the short punched and used her arms to help her get her feet under her, then lifted Ada's slight frame upward. They were close to the wall, and Ada's grip was tightening around her neck, making her see spots. The lock loosened when Claire slammed Ada into the stone, hearing her let out a breath. She backed away and slammed her again, then a third time, and Claire was able to slip from Ada's grip.

She didn't break from the grapple, however, and took hold of Ada, bringing her knee up into the stunned woman's midsection, sending the air from her body in a loud oof. Another blow to with her knee was aimed at Ada's kidney, and Claire knew she'd won the fight when her ex lover's body went limp and heavy. She shoved Ada into the wall and tried not to feel anything as she aimed a punch at her face. It connected, bopping the back of her head into the stone wall, and Ada slumped to the ground.

Claire, now feeling more tired than ever, slumped beside her, and gave her head something soft to rest on as Ada regained full consciousness. "Do you feel better now?" she asked, he voice barely above a whisper.

Claire kissed the top of Ada's head, letting the scent of her dark hair fill her up and briefly drive out the wet, sour smell that seemed to pervade everything in the castle.

"I still can't tell you who I'm working for," Ada said.

"I don't care anymore," Claire said, feeling like if she said more she might cry. "They're not too bad, are they?"

"I wish I knew, dear," Ada said. "I know what they want me to do, and I know they pay well."

She cradled Ada now, and could feel a small goose egg forming on the back of her head. "You could have just said that. Are you alright?"

"I've had worse," said Ada. "Looks like the government boys taught you a few tricks."

"Maybe," said Claire. "It seems like I've been getting the crap kicked out of me every other minute."

"I think karma was on your side, just now," said Ada, coughing. "You're right, I dumped you, and I regret it. I guess I was jealous, or something like it."

"I..." Claire stopped, not sure of what to say or how she should say it. "I'm really confused," she said.

Ada shifted, moving off Claire where she could sit up on her own. "I'm not a normal person, Claire, and what we had wasn't a normal thing. I think you know what you meant to me in the beginning, that's no secret, but it turned into something real. I didn't expect it to, and I didn't realize until that boy, Steve,...I wasn't worried about him, but he reminded me that you're a normal person and I'm not, and that someday you'd want something different, something where I didn't fit in."

Everything in Claire's body felt tight and hot, and it took great effort to keep her voice from cracking.

"I can't blame you for thinking that," Claire said. "I felt like I was on some crazy ride, and that I'd get off at some point, but then it got real for me, too. When you dumped me, I felt so stupid...like I'd been baited along, then cut loose. It hurt."

"So that Ashley girl is a rebound," Ada said, flatly.

Claire shook her head. "I care about her. As much as I care about you," she said. "She's not a rebound girl; what I have with her is real. And don't you even start with what has to happen between us, I know. She knows."

Ada looked up at her, giving her a sad smile. Claire could tell what she was thinking, and hoped Ada had good enough sense not to say it. -You'll be waiting to pick up the pieces, won't you?-

"Believe me, I don't want to see you hurt again," Ada said, stepping perilously close to the line Claire had drawn. "Or even the girl. She seems like she's got spunk, and she's good with that rifle."

"She's not the person most people think she is," said Claire. "And don't assume you and I are getting back together after it ends, I'm not a person who needs to be in a relationship at all times."

"I don't make assumptions," Ada said. "And neither should you. Come on, let's get going. It can be like old times for a little while."

"Not quite," Claire said.

"I think you're forgetting that bug inside you won't leave you a choice in the matter. Plus, if we're together we can get better gear from that perverted merchant if we see him again."

"You were always so practical," said Claire, picking up the shotgun and magnum while Ada retrieved her machine gun. Luckily the guns Annette and Ashley has been holding had fallen close enough to the portcullis so that Claire could reach through the bars and retrieve them. Meanwhile, Ada found the door in the back that led to the elevator outside which took them down to where the small boats had been tied.

"Why did that Krauser woman tell us where she was going?" Claire asked.

"Because she works for Wesker and is only pretending to be loyal to Saddler," Ada said. "Wesker wants as much information on Las Plagas as he can get, and he probably also wants to keep a tab on Saddler's scheme."

"Why would Wesker send two of you?" asked Claire as they boarded one of the boats.

"Who knows. Insurance in case one of us betrayed him or was compromised. Maybe he'd like to see Saddler's plan succeed to some degree. People like Wesker know how to benefit from that sort of chaos."

"Do you know what happened with him and Alexia?"

"I suspect they're working together, waiting for a good opportunity to stick a knife in the other's back. You see, they're all working to destroy themselves, and they don't need my help to hurt people, so I don't feel too about about taking money from one to steal from the other."

The boat was now bouncing over the waves, heading toward a black strip of land in the distance where Claire could see red and white pinpricks of light. "Whatever helps you sleep, Ada," she said. "Right now, tell me what you know about the island."

Chapter Twenty-eight.

The boat bounced over the choppy water towards the island, and Ada guided it to a cove where the water was black and calm. They floated in and moored next to another boat, which Claire guessed had been the one Krauser took. Claire tried her radio when they stepped onto the dock, but it was still making the squealing noise that meant the jammer was within range.

"Maybe that merchant can sell you a better radio," Ada said.

Claire snorted. "Right. What's the deal with that guy, anyway? I try not to think too much about him."

"I think he's a Plaga host, but not under Saddler's command."

"Hm. Wonder how that happened. Maybe he got kicked out for being a creeper."

Ada laughed. "It's like the scientist was saying, the parasite is native to these parts. I did some research before coming here that suggested the castle was built over some mines where they had been buried, or left to fossilize. Saddler came along, made some kind of deal with Salazar, and here we are today."

"So...?"

"So who's to say the villagers they had doing the digging were the first round of infected? I bet there was, or is, a small community of the things keeping to themselves in the hills."

"He's got a funny idea of keeping to himself," said Claire, as they went down the dock and into a cave, cluttered with assorted tools and supplies. Parts of the ceiling were exposed, and Claire could see a few stars, most being blocked by light pollution from somewhere up ahead.

The path they were on led over a channel of seawater, and up a stony hill. At the top, there were a handful of concrete warehouses, each looking like it hadn't seen maintenance since the day they were built, in addition to having suffered a recent artillery strike. At the center of them was a burning heap of garbage and tires throwing up tendrils of black smoke. Around the fire were about a dozen men, most sitting on crates and listening to a large chocolate-skinned man telling them a story in guttural Spanish. His face was obscured by the fire, but Claire could see he wore a bright red beret and was chomping on a long, thick cigar.

The men around him were clearly ganado. Their skin was gray and sallow, their clothes as filthy as the junk they were burning. Some wore World War II era helmets, and one had a gas mask on that he'd fitted with spiked studs. Beyond them, up a set of concrete steps, looked to be the entrance to a bunker that led deeper into the island.

"I'll let you call the shots for a while," Ada whispered.

Claire rolled her eyes, as there was only one option she could see. "Gee, thanks. Get their attention, then."

Ada whistled, and the ganado turned their heads. After a pause, they all clamored for blades and clubs, but checked themselves when the man in the beret said something. He was behind the fire, and stood up to retrieve something heavy behind him. She couldn't see what it was, but could hear the ganado laughing to themselves. She nearly screamed when he stepped around the fire.

He held a mini-gun, and was adjusting the ammunition belt that hung around his hip to a pack on his back.

"I didn't expect that," Ada said.

"Take cover!" Claire shouted, running back down the stony hill as the gun opened up behind her. Each shot blurred into a continuous hum, and under it she heard the air moving above her head. They ran into the tunnel, but didn't slow their panicked retreat. Claire thought about the boat, but nixed the idea, not wanting to be caught under machine gun fire over the water.

Claire stopped when she saw the pervert on the dock, having just stepped off his own boat. -He's like Starbucks...- she thought, her mouth open, unsure if she should warn him or ask for help.

"Hey there," Ada said, waving to the pervert. "Just the man I wanted to see."

"Sounds like ye got some trouble," the pervert said. "I think I got a remedy or two."

"No time to pay up front," said Ada. "But you know I'm good for it."

"Is she?" he nodded his hooded head towards Claire, who sputtered, unable to find the right combination of expletives that would express her feelings.

"Claire, there's a man with a mini-gun after us," Ada said.

Claire rolled her head back and had to close her eyes, forcing serenity on herself. "Fine. Show us what you've got."

The pervert pulled three small square boxes from his coat and handed them to Ada, who cradled them in both hands. Claire could see from how they curved they were Claymore mines. "I would suggest you set two on that slope there, where its cut in on the sides, and set the other about three meters down. He'll see the third, but maybe not the first two."

"My thoughts exactly," Ada said, running to the tunnel. Claire could hear the deep, booming laughter of the big ganado as he came down the tunnel.

Claire cast sidelong glances at the pervert while watching Ada. The pervert seemed almost bored, but aware of the glare he was under. His expression was one of bored approval as Ada finished setting the mines and ran back.

"Might want to get your rifle ready in case it doesn't work," she said.

Claire aimed the weapon down at the tunnel exit, thinking at least she'd have a big target to fire at.

The big man did exactly as they planned. He saw the mine farthest from him, and fired on it while walking forward. It exploded from being shot, while his feet triggered the first, blowing his legs out and sending him toppling down the slope into the other mine, which went off in his face. His comrades didn't seem impressed by his death, and came pouring down the tunnel to be cut down by Ada and Claire's fire.

"Is that it?" Claire asked, refreshing the magazine in her pistol.

"Looks like it," said Ada, turning to the pervert. "Alright, let's talk business."

Claire tried not to shiver as she walked over the rubble-strewn ground towards the set of steps that led to the bunker. She wore a pair or red Crocs, a tiny red bikini, and her utility belt. If one counted the rifle strap as clothing, (And Claire did not), she wore that, too.

Ada wore a similar outfit, only her's left far less to the imagination. "This can't be safe," Claire whispered, watching Ada walk. "We're practically naked."

"Shush," said Ada. "You know the only lines you're supposed to say."

"He can edit around it. And those lines are stupid, I'm not saying them."

Ada cast a glance back at her, surprising her with how serious she looked. "We need all the help we can get," she muttered, not opening her lips more than she had to. "He said after we have a few battles, we're free to do as we like."

Claire frowned, noting "a few battles" was not a definite number, and she didn't like assuming there would be more fighting ahead, even though it was likely there would be. For the umpteenth time she looked down at her bare skin and noted the dozens of cuts and bruises she wore, not to mention some of the stubborn dirt stains that marred her skin. -If I have to be in a wretched porn movie, I should at least look good,- she thought.

She could hear the pervert clicking with his camera a dozen yards back. He was prepared to film them as well once the shooting started. Claire wondered how their victory would affect the movie's value to whoever it was being distributed to. "Specific clients, I assure you," the pervert had said.

-If we die, he'll probably sell our underwear,- she thought. -I'm keeping this damn bikini if I live...-

Ada opened the door to the bunker, and they let the pervert catch up to follow them in. Claire moved to the lead, the shotgun at the ready, and made her way down a long, square hall until it forked and fed into a large room filled with desks and monitors.

Several ganado had been stationed there, and Claire did not hesitate to fire into where most were clustered. Ada stood close behind her, shooting at the ones about to throw a weapon. and taking out the legs of the ones that charged them, killing them before they could stand back up.

The fight was over quickly and Claire's ears were ringing, making her unsure of what Ada was shouting. "...baby," was all she heard, and she remembered she was supposed to say stupid catch-phrases as they fought.

"Suck on that," Claire said, sounding stupider than she thought would be possible. She caught Ada rolling her eyes. "What?"

"Your dialog is awful," said Ada. "Don't tell me you've never wanted to shout cocky things while you shot monsters?"

"Having something try to eat my face doesn't put me in a cocky mood," Claire said.

"Next room you come to, shout 'suck my boom-stick,' and let 'em have it," said Ada, walking over the corpses she'd created.

"I will not," said Claire, following her.

The room with the monitors, all of which showed static, had two exits, one that led to a much narrower hallway with pipes running along the ceiling. Claire followed close behind Ada, trying not to be distracted by the amount of bare skin she was showing. Their shooting had attracted attention, and a door at the end of the hall opened up, admitting a huge, armored ganado. He wore a chest plate and steel leggings. Chains guarded his midsection, and he wore a military-style helmet with a crude face-plate bolted onto it. In his right hand he carried a spiked club, which he banged against the wall while walking confidently towards them.

Ada crouched, allowing Claire to aim the shotgun over her head. "Wait until he's closer, then say it," Ada said.

"I'm not saying it," said Claire.

The huge man stepped a foot to the side and Claire could see he had company behind him. A small ganado in a red bandana who carried a small crossbow. In such a small space, Claire didn't think he would miss, and she cursed.

"Say it!" Ada shouted, firing a burst at the crossbow wielder as his bolt flew.

Claire felt the wind from it above her right ear and shouted "Suck it!" and fired the shotgun. The pellets hit the big ganado, but didn't slow him down. Instead he sped up, wielding his club like a spear. Claire aimed into his mouth, the only fleshy part she could see, and was rewarded by seeing blood and chunks of bone splatter over the metal breast plate, staggering the brute. Ada raised her machine gun and let off a short burst, putting at least one bullet into the big man's face, felling him.

Claire kept shooting at the ganado who came into the hall. They did not seem to consider the fact they stood no chance, and she wondered if it wasn't part of some overall strategy to wear down their ammunition supply. When it was done, and the hall stank of gunpowder and blood, Claire felt her chin grabbed and lips pressed against hers. She let Ada kiss her, knowing part of it was the show they'd agreed to put on.

"Let's go," said Claire, breaking the kiss "God knows what they're doing to Ashley."

"There's a limit to what they'll do, you know," said Ada.

"Visibly, yes," Claire said.

"No offense, but I think that parasite has broadened the girl's horizons a little."

Claire had a been a few steps ahead, and spun around to fix Ada with a glare. "What?"

"Eh, if you two are going to fight again, we should find some mud or something," said the pervert, who had come into the hall.

"Again? You saw the first time?"

"Say what?" said the pervert, cupping a hand around his ear.

Claire shook her head at the two of them, and carried on.  
Chapter Twenty-nine.

Ashley stood in front of a tall iron door with her arms crossed, looking through the tiny bared window an inch or so above her head. She could see the shoulder of the huge man who stood guard outside the room she'd been locked in, and thought if she had a gun she could shoot him behind the ear.

But she didn't have a gun, and she thought she'd probably just mess up anyway. Blowing a strand of hair from her face, she turned around to see how the gloomy scientist woman was recovering. She was reclined on a pile of grain sacks, her eyes closed, her face pinched.

Ashley went to the middle of the room and pretended to look out the small slit of a window to her right. "So," she said. "You used to work for Umbrella?"

Annette groaned. "Leave me alone."

"Sorry," Ashley said, thinking their time spent together in the dumpster had meant they should at least speak. She put her hands sharply to her sides on realizing she'd been fiddling one of her nipples.

"You think we'll get rescued again?" she asked.

"Ugh, I don't know...you said they killed Salazar?"

"He looked dead to me. How is what he did even possible?"

Another sigh from Annette. "Even if you were a trained scientist, you wouldn't believe or understand me. Advanced B.O.W projects have a way of flying in the face of what's accepted about biology." Annette paused, then began talking more, clearly happy to speak to someone about what she knew. "The Plaga occur naturally, see. What I did was I took some concepts from the G-Virus regarding energy consumption by cells, and applied it to the Plaga. That's what lets some of them grow and transform like they do. Those kinds of metamorphosis require time and calories, but I've been able to engineer parasites that break natural thresholds."

"The G-virus?"

"Superior to the T-virus, which destroyed Raccoon City," said Annette.

"Oh. You and Claire were talking about Raccoon City."

"Yes, when she punched me. Can't say I didn't deserve it. I've done a lot of great things for bad purposes...maybe I deserve what's coming to me."

Ashley bit her lip and turned away, thinking Annette was probably right. "Can I ask, why?"

"Why what?"

"Why work on things like parasites and G-viruses? You know they're bad, you know what people will do with your work."

She faced Annette again, and saw a smile had spread over her face. "I've been thinking about that a lot lately. You know, I got into this line of work to make vaccines. But to make vaccines and stay ahead of the diseases, sometimes you have to anticipate them, and to do that you have to engineer viruses that are nastier than anything in nature. That's how it starts; that's how I met my husband, William, who was light years ahead of anyone in his field. I guess I got caught up in the discoveries he was making, ones that flipped known science on its head..."

"Curiosity, then?" Ashley said. "I don't mean to judge, but how could you make zombies and monsters in the same town, in the same world, your daughter lives in?"

Annette slid off her sack bed and onto her feet, startling Ashley. "Money helps," she said, moving towards the window, close to Ashley. "Money makes you think you're building a future for her, money makes you able to tell yourself you're still working on ways to fight against B. , despite being the worlds leading manufacturer of them. Maybe that's hard for you to understand. I don't think you've ever not had a lot of money at your fingertips?"

"I've been pretty lucky," Ashley said, crossing her arms. "People like to blame me for it, but whatever."

"Oh, I'm not blaming you, dear," Annette said. "You don't get to pick where you start, that goes for privileged people, too. I must say, you've impressed me a little." She had turned now, and Ashley didn't care for the chipper look on her face.

"Oh Really?"

"Yes. I was expecting the girl most people envision when they see you on television or magazines."

"And how do most people envision me?" Ashley asked, already having a fairly good idea.

"Spoiled, stupid. It's the hair, dear, and the body. People think pretty blondes are idiots, regardless of any evidence to the contrary. I'd say for someone not trained in the slightest to deal with situations like this, you've held up pretty well."

Ashley felt the back of her neck turning red. She was used to hollow compliments, and while what Annette said meant little, she felt it was genuine. "Thank you...I guess some of Claire rubbed off on me."

"She's a strange one," Annette said. "Stranger than all of us, I think."

"How so?"

"Well, you're clearly not meant to be in a place like this. That Ada woman and I, are, but Claire...she seems to have feet in both worlds. It's like she's not comfortable here, but fits anyway. I don't know, I'm not really that much of a people watcher."

Ashley nodded, and began to pace. "I wonder which world she'll pick."

"Assuming we don't all die here? Who knows. It's a safe bet you'll be kept under lock and key after this. You two might be able to carry on something discrete in a few years, if you don't mind the limelight. But in the meantime...Claire seems to like dangerous women, and Ada definitely one of those."

"Sounds swell," said Ashley, letting out a long sigh, now sorry she'd gotten Annette to talk. Ashley wished she'd use some of her powers of observation to realize none of this was making her feel better.

"However," Annette continued. "It seems to me that Ada's a bit extreme for Claire. That could be your opening."

Ashley now looked to Annette, her face animated, her eyes dead. "How so?"

"Well, if Claire likes Ada, who's just a bit too intense for her, maybe all you, a fairly normal girl, would have to do is take it up a few notches."

"You're saying Claire likes normal girls with a dangerous side, and I can get her by being a little more like Ada, but not too much?"

Annette nodded.

"But she's not going to wait the years it would take for us to be together," said Ashley.

"Is that set in stone? Don't tell me you have no pull with your father?"

"Not as much as people seem to think," she said, impatient. "I'm a free woman, but carrying on a love affair with my female bodyguard...I had to make some big bluffs for him to let me study abroad. And look how that turned out."

"I'm sure if Claire rescues you, the president's spin doctors can work the whole thing to his advantage. Maybe go after the gay vote, somehow."

"I'm not..." Ashley stopped, having lost the energy to think about that now, not with her thoughts bent towards the possibilities Annette had presented. She remembered her talk with Claire earlier, how they'd said nothing was certain, but still the sense that they wouldn't be together after this had clung to them and grown.

-Annette's right,- Ashley thought. -But it won't matter if we don't win, and we won't win if I don't stop wasting my time thinking about stuff I can't help.-

She forced Claire from her mind and began to think about her current situation in earnest, remembering that if the cult wanted its plan to work, they couldn't kill her. Ashley began to look around the room for things she might use in her escape. The room was almost divided in half by a high metal shelf that contained mostly bags of grain, but also seemingly random items no one had been able to find a place for. Lengths of pipe, broken parts, and different odds and ends Ashley could not identify.

Standing on a bucket by the door, she looked out at the guard. He faced a small alcove, and she could not see if there were more in the hall outside. The swung out, she thought, and because of the shelf there would be no way of attacking whoever entered by surprise. She considered a tripwire, but there was no place to tie it across the floor.

Annette was standing against the far wall, her arms crossed. "Thinking of something?" she asked.

"Yes, but I don't have a science degree, and it's getting harder for me to think," said Ashley. "Know what I mean?"

"I do," said Annette, twirling a strand of her hair.

Ashley, rather than feeling disgusted, felt annoyed for the distraction. She tried to ignore it, but now that she knew she was aroused, the feeling seemed to increase.

"It's worse than before," Ashley said.

Annette sucked in a breath. "My guess is until we find the cure, the urge will come less often, but harder when it does."

"Ugh. Well then lets get it over with."

They moved away from the door and to make matters easier, removed their clothing. It was mechanical, emotionless. There was no teasing beyond a grip or squeeze of a buttock or breast, and when they went to the floor, they positioned themselves to get the job done as quickly as possible. Annette was less flexible, so she lay with her legs open while Ashley positioned herself in between, doing most of the work in grinding their womanhoods together. Ashley did her best to pretend it was Claire beneath her, and was surprised when Ada's image popped in as well.

She felt Annette come beneath her, and followed suit. Once the tingling feeling wore off, she quickly put her clothes back on, as did Annette. "I still feel it," Ashley said. "Not as bad, but still..."

"Same here," Annette said. "I'm not sure what this means, but it isn't good."

"Well then lets get out of here and get the thing taken out!"

"Alright, fetch me that bucket. There's some chemicals they've left in here that when mixed make a fairly caustic acid...or an explosive. Hope for acid."

"Acid, right," Ashley said, bringing Annette the bucket. Annette found a rag, and opened a small tin of some kind of goop, which she wiped on the the interior of the metal bucket before pouring in about five liquids from different half empty bottles. She then stirred the concoction with a length of plastic pipe. When she removed the pipe, it had melted.

"Why isn't it melting the bucket?" Ashley asked. "Is it because of the goop?"

"Yes, that substance is acting as a barrier, but it will wear off soon enough. Now, how do we get that lug in here?"

Ashley motioned her behind the shelf with the bucket and began screaming at the top of her lungs. "Help! Help! She's gone crazy!" She then pulled a shelf of items off onto the floor, drowning her own shouts in noise.

The door opened and in came the big man. His head came around first, and his arms had been lowered, meaning to grab at something, so he took the bucket of makeshift acid full in the face. His club fell to the ground and he went stumbling back into the wall, holding his face which Ashley could see was sloughing off. Careful not to touch the acid, she picked up the club, raised it above her head, and let it drop over the ganado's helmet. He was writhing on the ground, and Ashley felt Annette tug her from behind. "Let's go!"

The club fell from her hands and she ran from the room, following Annette and waiting to be ambushed by more of the ganado. They entered what looked to be some kind of maintenance or meeting room where there were a few monitors showing what looked like boilers and water pools. "Stop," said Annette, and Ashley could hear dozens of footsteps getting louder. "We have to hide."

Ashley looked around. Under the table was no good and they would not fit in any of the lockers lined up in a row on the other end of the room. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to a handle on the wall.

"A trash chute...no telling how high up were are or if it goes to an incinerator or not."

Ashley ran to it and opened it up. It was a big chute and would easily accommodate them. "I don't feel any heat," she said, also noting the smell wasn't as bad as she'd anticipated.

The steps were louder and they could hear voices. "Let's go," Ashley said, thinking Claire would be proud of her if she could manage her own escape. She climbed into the chute and fell through, dropping several alarming feet before the chute angled out and let her slide.

She landed on a mountain of black garbage bags and immediately her skin began to crawl. Whatever was in the bags was solid, soft, and bony.

Annette came down behind her, and did not seem eager to stay on the bags for long, either. "Did they see you come down?" asked Ashley.

"I don't think so," she said.

"Ugh. What's in those bags?"

"You don't want...to...know," Annette said, her words getting quieter. "Oh, God, no..."

Ashley looked around. She could see they were in some large room divided by steel partitions. Garbage bags had been piled haphazardly in corners, and there seemed to be still conveyer belts between the partitions leading to what might have been an incinerator or a compactor. "What is it? Where are we?"

"Damn, I should have remembered," Annette said.

"Remembered what?"

"Shhh," Annette said. "There's a good chance none of them are active, but if they are, they might hear us."

"What?" Ashley asked, whispering. Her heart had been racing, but now her chest felt tight.

Annette motioned her to come closer, and spoke into her ear. "A type of Plaga host I created...the worst of them, by far. They can regenerate wounds, they're practically unkillable if you don't know the secret. They were unstable, however. Uncontrollable. I told Saddler to have them burned, but I know they just got dumped. Down here."

Ashley felt her insides turning to ice. She had no idea what one of these things looked like, but Annette's tone said it all.

The room had taken on a stillness Ashley had not noticed before. While nothing seemed to move, she could hear each and every small, distant clink hum from buzzing machines and groaning metal. "Do you know how to get out of here?" she whispered.

Annette had turned white, her feelings of deserved misfortune had seemingly deserted her. She looked past Ashley and gestured with her chin in a vague direction. "We might get lucky, they might all have died or gone dormant."

"What's the trick to killing them?" Ashley whispered, feeling stupid for asking as they had no weapons.

Annette shook her head to dismiss the question as she quietly stepped past Ashley and towards the gap in the partition. "They have multiple Plaga in their bodies. They're like a colony, similar to a slime mold, but humanoid. Take out the Plaga keeping the other cells alive and the whole thing will die. You've have to shoot them into a fine paste to stop them, or know where the Plaga have taken root."

On the other side of a second partition, it became clear her guide had little knowledge of where she was going, leading them down a narrow hallway that dead-ended in a large utility closet. "Could you make more of that acid?" Ashley asked.

Annette looked around the room, shook her head, then leaned against a wall while rubbing her temples. "If I had a boiler I could make an explosive compound...not sure how we'd control it, however."

Ashley grabbed a mop handle, held the end to the ground, and kicked it. It was brittle, and it snapped into a fine point.

"What are you doing?" Annette asked. "I've seen one of those things bite a man's head clean off, you're not going to fight it with a mop handle."

"All I know is the next creep who gets near me is losing an eye," said Ashley. "Come on, we can't stay here, they'll never find us in time. If we see one of those things, we'll just have to run and hope for the best."

It looked like Annette was going to need some convincing, but Ashley had little time to draft the necessary motivational speech when she heard something from out in the hall. Her stomach twisted into a knot and she held her spear high, waiting to see what this horrible monster Annette barely described truly looked like.

The door did not burst open, but rather the knob turned, and Ashley wondered why she had not locked it. -Claire,- she thought in disbelief, there being no way she could be this lucky twice.

Her cynicism was validated when an annoyed Jacqueline Krauser walked through the door. A spark of surprise lit on her face briefly, before grim satisfaction washed it away. "Good," she said. "Thought I was going to have to waste a lot of time searching."

"You can go," said Ashley. "We'll catch up with you, don't worry."

Krauser crossed her arms and tapped her foot, looking down like an irritated parent. "If you're going to be this much of an inconvenience then some punishment is in order. Maybe you'll think twice about running off again after I show what can happen when you make me chase you down."

Annette was backing up, as was Ashley, each thinking there was no way Krauser could catch them both of she went after one of them. Ashley knew it would be her Krauser went for, so she stepped farther back, letting Krauser come farther in and away from the door.

Annette made her move too early, and had the back of her shirt snatched in Krauser's fist before she crossed the threshold. Lifting her up off her feet, Krauser tossed Annette to the side and kicked the door shut before turning around again, this time with a smile on her face. "I think I'll break her legs, then deal with you," Krauser said.

"No!" Ashley shouted. "No, please, we'll cooperate, just don't hurt her."

Krauser called Ashley over with the crook of her finger and the girl came. "Drop the stick," she said, and was again obeyed.

"You win, okay," Ashley said.

Krauser reached out to feel one of Ashley's breasts. She stood still, feeling her body respond to the touch. "The torture before was for show. Your stay doesn't have to be so bad, it can even be pleasant, if you cooperate, that is."

Ashley licked her lips and hoped it wasn't taking her as long to respond as it seemed. She felt there was an opportunity here, somewhere. -Don't rush it,- she thought. -She'll know if you're too eager.-

"I don't see how that can be," she said, looking at Krauser, whose tightly muscled figure was making her squirm.

"You have to see the big picture," said Krauser. "I'm fighting for world peace, believe it or not. I value order. We might be on slightly different sides, but you don't have to take it personal."

"I don't? Can you get me out of here?" She knew the answer, but it was the little touches that made an act believable.

"No, but I can keep the ganado from being overly aggressive. They see me as a controller, and if they think I've marked you, they'll leave you alone."

"What a load of bullshit," said Annette. "You were going to rape her, now you're trying to charm her?"

Annette got to her feet and walked towards them, making Ashley's eyes bulge in anticipation of the impending violence. Krauser took her by the jaw and pulled her forward, brushing Ashley aside. "Sounds like you just want to go first," said Krauser. "Fine, you can be my warm up before I take care of that Asian bitch."

In one motion she shoved Annette face first against the door and hiked up her skirt. Ashley stood back, her vague plan now in ruins, and watched Krauser lift Annette up while undoing her own pants. She heard something wet and fleshy become unsheathed and was unable to turn away, the Plaga inside her imbuing her with a morbid fascination. She could see Krauser's mutant cock briefly before it found its way into Annette, making her moan.

"Must be you wanted this," Krauser said in her ear. "Running your mouth like that to piss me off...Plaga's made you a little slut, then. Or maybe you were slutty before?"

She was thrusting with her hips while holding Annette to the door. Each movement was punctuated by a slamming sound and a whimper. The mop handle lay where it had fallen, and Ashley looked between it and Krauser's rippling back. Before she could make up her mind, Krauser grunted and thrust harder into Annette before pulled out. She tossed the woman to the side where she landed on the floor and didn't move.

Krauser turned around, the appendage she'd used on Annette jutted out, dripping. It was phallic but bore no real resemblance to any penis Ashley had ever seen. Despite this, her skin felt hot and thoughts of sucking it as well as having it inside her ran through her mind. "It was rough because she's a bitch," said Krauser. "I've still got a pussy, if you pref..."

The door burst open as Ashley had expected it to the first time. It made her duck, but she could see the door hit Krauser in the back and fall near Annette. "Shit," muttered Krauser, when she turned to see the thing in the doorway.

It was shaped like a person with two arms, a head, and legs, but its humanity was merely a suggestion. Its mottled gray skin covered a body more like a clay dummy, the head a Jack O' Lantern with red eyes and a vertical mouth stuffed with too many teeth. It made an eager hissing sound as it walked unsteadily forward and lunged at Krauser, who sidestepped the attack and pulled a knife.

Ashley picked up her mop handle and kept still, hoping the monster wouldn't divert its attention from Krauser. She didn't have to hope, as Krauser seemed to be luring it back into the room to give herself more room to fight.

Ashley darted forward when the thing made another lunge at Krauser, who this time caught the monster and began stabbing into its torso.

Ashley shook Annette, who got clumsily to her feet. "Let's go, come on!" she shouted.

Annette staggered after her as they went back into the series of hallways and open rooms, the sounds of battle diminishing behind them. They ran to the other end of the main room and took a corner down a long hall where they ran headlong into Osmund Saddler himself.

He almost didn't seem to notice them as they picked themselves up off the floor and ran back. Ashley thought she'd tripped on something, but could see a long, dark colored tentacle had wrapped around Annette's leg, and was pulling her back. Ashley had come to the same fate, and swatted and clawed at the appendage as she was dragged forward and raised to hand upside down in front of Saddler.

"You're becoming quite annoying," Saddler said. "Both of you." He raised his hand in front of Ashley's chest, and she felt something squirm inside. "Ah," he said. "Yes, very annoying. Well, you will have earned what comes next."

He turned around, and the tentacles that held them, which slipped from beneath his long, purple robe, let them to floor and dragged them along like kicking, screaming bags.

Chapter Thirty.

There weren't as many ganado in the compound as Claire had feared it would be, but the ones they encountered were well-armed, organized, and fierce. The crossbow bolts flew with enough frequency for Claire to assume all the ganado were armed with guns, and she fought accordingly, using the techniques she'd been taught in her government training. By the time they got a moment to rest, Claire's ears were ringing from gunshots and her skin smelled of gunpowder.

"How are we on ammo?" Claire asked.

They stopped and checked their packs while the pervert filmed them from close by.

"We're a bit low," said Ada. "And I'm incredibly turned on, so you know," she added under her breath.

Claire smiled despite herself. She could feel the urge, too, and wasn't sure it could all be blamed on the parasite. Splattering infected people was not one of her turn-ons, but Ada was. "How long is this movie of yours?" she asked, turning towards the pervert and using the chance to un-wedge the back of her bikini which had become damp with sweat.

"Shoot more material than you'll use, is the golden rule of film makin'," said the pervert. "Might have to do some sound editin' 'round you, though."

She detected no chastisement in his voice, but felt like she should. From the corner of her eye, she caught Ada nodding. "Really, Claire, 'whoo-ha!' What was that?"

She felt her cheeks turn red at the memory of the last thing she'd shouted before showering a group of ganado in buckshot. "I didn't think it was that bad," Claire said. "Who cares, anyway? Let's quit messing around."

Claire noticed the condition of the compound was improving the father in they went. Crumbling, damp concrete walls were replaced by newer synthetic materials, and better lighting. Claire thought she could hear the pervert muttering something behind them, but couldn't tell what it was. She strained her ringing ears, curious because his voice now seemed to carry a real emotion. Fear?

"Ah," said Ada, when they came to a hall that ended in a metal door. It opened automatically, parting in the middle horizontally. On the other side was a long, white hall with mirrors on either side. "Stop," said Ada. "Let me go first."

She got about halfway down the hall when something snapped and sizzled at the far end. "Ooh," Ada cooed, bending her legs. She jumped and an orange beam passed under her and disappeared in front of Claire's face, who stood just outside the hall. Ada ran now, only this time the beam rose upward. Ada didn't fall for it, and ducked, missing it. She reached the end of the hall by leaping sideways through a pair of beams that spun around each other as though part of a roller.

"That's not an alarm!" Ada shouted. "It's a cutting laser."

Claire's hot skin now felt cold, and she made a shooting gesture at the wall. Ada shook her head, and Claire figured whoever had made the trap would have considered somebody shooting it. Claire swore, and removed her weapons and gear, which she slid down across the long, smooth floor for Ada to reach out and get. Ada was nimble enough to dodge lasers while carrying things, but Claire knew her limitations.

She could hear the pervert chuckling, and he wished her luck when she started her run. The first laser came at her an an awkward height, too low to make ducking the obvious option, but high enough to make her second guess a jump. She went with going completely prone, and let the beam pass over her before getting heavily to her feet and starting off again.

Two beams came at her as two horizontal lines. She was about to leap through them as Ada had, but they turned into an X a few feet in front of her, making her heart leap into her throat. She twisted in the air and fit herself through the triangular gap on the left, landing hard on her bikini-clad rear. She now had a severe wedgie and only wanted to get to safety before the murderous beams sent something impossible at her.

The next attack was another pair, only at first she thought it was one. When they angled to form another X, then came back down again, she was forced to back up. She fully intended to run all the way back, unable to wrap her head around the setup well enough to dodge it in so short a time, but another quick thought came to her...the laser obstacles were only getting harder. It was learning, somehow, or so it seemed.

She darted through the gap on the right and rolled forward as the second beam came up to let her pass. So surprised at the ease of it, she fell the next few steps and ended near Ada's feet. "Makes more sense than a walking statute," she said.

"Yeah," said Claire, getting up and picking her bikini from her butt once more. She waived for the pervert to come over, thinking he likely had some trick up his sleeve to get past it.

"Eh, I'll catch up," he said.

"Hey! Our clothes!" Claire called out.

The pervert produced a bundle from under his coat and tossed it down the long hall. Claire picked it up and found it was their clothing, sans underwear. "Hey!" But the pervert was gone.

"Don't tell me you didn't expect that," Ada said.

"What the heck is he going to do with my underwear?" Claire asked, getting back into her shorts and boots. She threw her vest on over her bikini top, but didn't bother with her shirt, which she tucked into her belt. "What, it's hot in here," she said, seeing Ada smirk at her.

"You're a tease, Claire Redfield," said Ada, slipping to her dress.

Beyond the laser hall was a series of operating rooms and computer banks. Dead Plaga in varying stages of development floated in liquid observation tubes. Claire expected at least one to twitch, but they were all dead. "I think we're getting closer to the removal device," said Ada. "This looks like the kind of place it would be."

They went back into the hall and checked the rooms as they went, meeting no resistance. The hall ended in another large door which was locked. Claire and Ada split up and searched the rooms again until Claire found a card key that opened it. On the other side was a large room where the floor ramped up to a central platform. There a large glass tube was set, and inside, secured to a vertical table was Ashley.

A door opened behind the tube to the left and Claire gritted her teeth at the sight of the purple hood and pale chin jutting from beneath it. Saddler walked in front of the tube and raised his head, revealing his face. He was calm, but his eyes glittered. "So, this is it, then," he said. "I'm going to have to commend you, you've caused quite a bit of damage for a pair of prostitutes."

"And you've been awfully hard to kill for a Jim Jones wannabe with a bad tapeworm problem," said Claire.

Saddler held his hand up and Claire felt her body become rigid. She felt her body moving to point her shotgun at Ada, and while she tried to resist it was like trying to keep from shivering while naked in a snowstorm.

"Sorry," said Ada, and dealt a high kick to the back of Claire's head. The shotgun went off, missing Ada, and Claire went to the floor, stunned.

There was more gunfire, and Claire felt something tug at the magnum on her hip. When it went off, she came to her senses and saw Ada was running towards the tube and working her way behind Saddler, who while not going out of his way to avoid her shots, was covering his head with his hands. Claire got to her feet and ran to the tube where Ashley was and began hitting buttons on a console next to it. The tube slid upward and she felt her body become rigid once more, then suddenly she had control again. She cut Ashley's restraints with her knife and the girl moaned as she came loose into Claire's arms.

Ada was attacking Saddler with a ferocity Claire had never seen. She kept up a barrage of hand to hand and firearm attacks that kept the man focused on her, lest she do serious damage with the magnum. He was aware of what Claire was doing, but couldn't turn his attention from Ada long enough to do anything. Claire used the opportunity to drag the girl down off the platform and through the side door Saddler had come from. Once she was through, she let Ashley slump against the wall and turned back, only to hear a tremendous crashing sound from the other room.

"What the..."

There was a fwoosh noise and the sound of a fire alarm. The door was now hot, and while Claire didn't know what happened, knew she couldn't help Ada now. Ashley moaned again, and was getting to her feet.

"C-Claire," she said, falling to her arms.

"I got you, kiddo," she said. "Come on...yes!"

The room they were in was larger than it looked for all the clutter. Its center piece was what looked like a dentists chair with some kind of torture device suspended over it. -That has to be it,- Claire thought, moving towards the machine.

"You first," Claire said, helping Ashley into the chair. After some looking around she found a clipboard with what looked like a user's manual attached. It was for lab technicians, and Claire had to read it a few times before knowing what to do.

"Switch with me," Claire said. "Let's work out the kinks on me first."

She showed Ashley how to use the machine. Once it was on, the monitor would show an x-ray of the patient's chest. "All you have to do, I think, is put these crosshairs over the bug and push this button."

Ashley nodded, her attention on the sounds of gunfire from the other room. Claire got in the seat and saw Ashley make a face at the monitor. When she hit the button, a beam of light fired from the device above her, into her chest, and it felt like she might explode and vomit at the same time. She cried out, and the beam stopped. "Keep going," Claire said, breathing heavily.

"It worked," Ashley said. "The bug, it...disappeared."

"Ugh. Your turn." She looked at her chest and could see no visible sign of damage. Marveling at how well the device worked, she switched places with Ashley, and felt her skin crawl when she saw the x-ray. The Plaga was larger than she'd anticipated, and she wondered how she hadn't felt it inside her. "Ready?" She hit the button when Ashley nodded and tried not to listen to the girl's cries or the diminishing gunfire from outside the room. She stopped when, as Ashley said it would, the parasite broke up and dissolved, like packing foam under water. -Beats having to pass it some other way,- she thought.

"I don't know where Annette is," said Ashley.

Claire took a deep breath. "Let's just get you out of here," she said. "That's my mission, that's what's important."

Ashley nodded, and they went out through a door in the back.

Chapter Thirty-One.

The sprinkler system had kicked on, drenching the hallways and filling them with noise. Claire resisted the urge to run, knowing she couldn't hear any enemies that might be lurking, but no ganado came to bar their way. Eventually they were free of the sprinklers, and came to the end of a curved service tunnel, where a ladder led up. Ashley touched the first rung, but stopped. "What about Ada?"

"Go, she can handle herself," Claire said, pressing Ashley on.

Claire tried to keep her voice from being sharp, but knew she didn't need more reasons to go back and look for Ada, or Annette. Her mind was taken off the problem briefly by Ashley's backside, which Claire watched as she ascended the ladder. As she climbed, her senses began reporting to her brain double-time, noting the cold, hard, slightly greasy feel of the ladder, the weight of her clothing and guns, and the presence of Ashley's body above her as it moved.

They stopped long enough for Ashley to open the hatch and Claire wondered why she hadn't insisted on going first to check for danger. Her eyes never leaving Ashley, they ascended and were out atop a flat patch of concrete with a mesh fence to one end and a high rock wall on the other. In between was a cliff overlooking the water.

"It's daylight," Ashley said. The moon sat translucent in the white-blue sky, reminding Claire to try her radio.

"Still jammed," she said, resisting the urge to throw it off the cliff. "We never did find the jammer."

"Maybe we can get far enough away," said Ashley, looking past the fence.

In the distance, perhaps a mile or two off, was a metal structure that reminded Claire of an airport control tower. There were windows at the top and blinking green lights, plus a satellite dish. "Let's head towards that thing," said Claire. "I don't know what it is, but it might be useful."

-It's either where the jammer is, or it's something I can use to boost my signal,- she thought. -Maybe I'll just call out on their lines, the message will get where it's going one way or another.-

"Um, Claire," Ashley said, rubbing her forearms.

"What is it now?" Claire asked, surprised at how irritated she sounded.

Ashley seemed to fold, but determined as ever, said what she'd intended. "What's with that outfit?"

Claire looked down, remembering she now only wore a bikini top under her vest. "Oh...We met the pervert again."

Ashley nodded, licking her lips. "Do you...still, feel like doing it?"

"Yes...don't panic, I think maybe it just our hormones out of whack, or something."

"It's not, like, permanent, is it? Do you think?"

Claire wanted to comfort the girl, but that feeling was overridden by the desire to squeeze her, smell her, and taste her. Ashley, like Claire, was soaked from the sprinklers; the white clothes she wore clung to her skin showing off contours and curves. Claire wanted to touch her, so she did. Ashley reciprocated and that broke the floodgate. Claire paused only long enough to shed the clumsy weapons she carried, and pulled Ashley tight, feeling her with her body as well as hands.

Kissing her was like water being thrown on coals, soothing the need as well as urging it on. Ashley's shirt came open and Claire's top was pushed up. Hands slid down the back of her shorts and her buttocks were squeezed. Claire looked around for a place they could lay, and finding none, took Ashley to the ground where they stood.

The concrete was hard and unaccommodating, but Claire's perception had room for Ashley and nothing else. Claire got her shorts off and Ashley's pants down, and was able to position herself on top of Ashley so they could service each other most efficiently. The taste of the girl broke whatever remaining barriers there were, and Claire lived only for the feeling between her legs. The skin being scraped from her bare knees went unnoticed as did every bruise and muscle ache she had.

When she came, she bucked and nearly hit her head on the concrete. Her limited ability to think was enough to keep her tongue where it was needed, and in between her own sounds of pleasure she was able to bring Ashley over as well.

It was over, and Claire rolled of Ashley to lie on her back. Ashley sat up, groaning, and put her shirt back together. Before scooting over to Claire and lying her head on he chest. "Do you think we'll get to do it for real, one more time?"

Claire could only breathe heavily. Ashley wanted to make love, she knew, not have their last time together be compulsive fucking. Claire sat up and removed her vest. She laid it down beneath her and went back on it, nudging Ashley closer to her. "Hand me that shotgun," she said, and Ashley stretched to grab it.

"What are we doing?" Ashley asked.

"I'm hoping Ada will come up that tunnel in a few minutes. If she doesn't, we'll head for that tower. Until then, let's have some us time."

She lie on her side with Ashley resting her head near her chest. It was hard, impossible really, to truly relax knowing she might soon have to shoot something, but at least there wasn't a parasite growing inside her chest anymore.

Enough time went by for the fatigue and injuries to make themselves felt, and Claire thought she'd been quite silly to stop and cuddle. She got herself clothed once more and pulled on her black shirt in time to hear something coming up the ladder.

She leveled her shotgun at the hole and hoped to see Ada's head. She nearly fired at the sight of the purple hood, but the pervert seemed to be whistling to himself.

"I thought I might find ya," he said, not bothering to brush the dust from his coat.

"Oh, hey," Ashley said, giving him a small wave.

"How did you get here?" Claire asked. "Have you seen Ada?"

"I know this island like I know the back of my hand," he said. "And nope, 'fraid not. Somebody tore up that lab good, though. Lotta blood."

Claire was ready to take her chances at shooting him and looting the body, but held off. "Is Saddler dead, then?"

"I'll give you a bit more 'o free information, but then I best start chargin'," he said. "First, yer friend and that Saddler fellow both left that room alive, so don't ye worry. Second, you'll want to be headin' to yonder tower. That's where they're jammin' yer signal from. After that, I'd make my way northward, towards a helicopter platform. 'Bout the only place a bloke can land a whirly bird 'round these parts. Careful, though, there's a camp between here n' there, full of the bastards."

Claire rolled her eyes, but supposed that was at least partially helpful. "Camp?"

"Yeah. What's left of 'em are there. I recommend sneakin' past it."

"How?"

"Dunno," he said, shrugging. "Truth be told, I think you'll die there, so I'm not gonna be able to give more freebies. And don't think yer gonna shoot me, either. You might get a shot off, but it won't put me down before I can shoot back."

Claire felt like she should be offended, but had to admit she'd been thinking of killing him. "Alright, fine," she said. "I'm done trying to make sense of you, so here it is. I need bullets for the guns I have and a way of getting past this camp you say will be the death of me."

"That's a tall order. I'm gonna need some kinky stuff, if you're up for it."

She looked at Ashley, who was nodding slowly. "I'm up for it."

"Heh, heh, alright then," the pervert said, and reached into his coat.

Claire felt herself becoming horny again as she pulled the dildo out of Ashley and held it up, making a show of licking it clean, before sliding it between her own legs. It was about ten inches long, bright orange, with nubs up and down the length. Claire looked at the pervert's camera as she held it up again and licked it, before putting it back into Ashley, who writhed.

They were on a thick blanket and had been able to put some of Umbrella Incs. First Aid Spray on their cuts and bruises. This stuff even had a pleasant odor, like those strange red and green herbs Claire had been taught to mix during her training.

With the pain gone and the immediate threat of turning into a mindless slave removed, Claire found herself enjoying her current activity. In the back of her mind she was all but certain her image would end up on the Internet, but after each orgasm, the pervert pulled out either a box of bullets or some other useful item and set it on a stand he'd folded out.

Claire looked at the pile now and again and only wished Ada or even Annette would come along to pick up another gun or carry some bullets or grenades. She began to wonder again how the pervert carried all his hardware, but Ashley was coming again and it demanded her attention. She caressed the girl's stomach with her free hand while working the dildo steadily with the other, stoking the orgasm for as long as it would go. Her hand slid up to Ashley's breasts and cupped one, playing lightly with the nipple.

After a while they switched, only Ashley made use of a strap-on that went with the orange dildo they'd been using. Claire positioned her leg over Ashley's shoulder and let her thrust. She played with her own breasts while Ashley's free hand massaged Claire's clitoris. She put only marginal care into being quiet, depending on the pervert to be alert for danger in between checking his cameras.

She came twice before she heard her radio crackle to life. She'd left it on.

"Ms. Redfield, are you alive?" came Saddler's voice. "I certainly hope so, as searching for your corpse would be onerous."

"Crap, I have to take that," Claire said.

The pervert handed her the radio, but motioned for Ashley to keep thrusting. Claire wiggled the radio so the pervert could see it, and he responded by pulling out a large, .44 magnum, this one a semi-automatic, magazine fed monstrosity. He held it in one hand and made a twirling gesture with the other, as if it were a game show prize.

Claire nodded at Ashley, who went back to her thrusts.

"I'm going to be a lot more than onerous," said Claire, to the radio.

"Ah! So you do live. Excellent, excellent. I trust Ashley is safe with you?"

"She's on a...chopper headed for a U.S. Air-force base," said Claire, feeling an orgasm build.

"How you lie," said Saddler. "The only person you can call on your little radio is me, and I have ways of knowing about inbound flights."

Claire took a deep breath, which Ashley took as a sign to slow her thrusting. This had the opposite effect, and Claire squirmed. "I..what do you want?" she said, her voice unnaturally high.

Saddler laughed. "I can tell you are wounded, badly. I can put an end to your pain if you come to the platform on the north end of the island. Bring the girl. I will tell my ganado to let you pass."

"I can show myself out, thanks," Claire said, letting her words be slurred by surges of pleasure from Ashley.

"I wonder what you did to yourself," said Saddler. "Burns, most likely. Those are quite painful, as I'm sure your ally can attest."

"Where's Ada?" Claire asked. "She'd better be alright, or..."

"Your little friend escaped me, but my minion Krauser has been instructed not to rest until she locates her...or you, if by chance. I can assure you, should Krauser find either one of you, there will be no mercy."

"Fine," said Claire, feeling herself about to come. She shook her head and held the radio up once more. "But I'm coming to kill you."

She shut the radio off and let out a scream as a wave of pleasure ran through her, making her shake and tingle.

"Heh, heh, nice," said the pervert. "I think we can call it good for now."

The women put their clothes back on and Claire set to finding room for the bullets she'd bought. The pervert threw in a few pouches which slipped over the butt-stocks of the long range weapons, and between them Claire was able to find room for the ammunition.

"You can take this," Claire said, handing the rifle over to Ashley along with the ammunition. "Remember how to use it?"

She nodded.

"Good. You follow behind me a few steps. I'll tell you when to shoot."

"Good luck," said the pervert, as they made their way towards the fence, where a path sloped downward, towards the distant tower.

Chapter Thirty-Two.

Ada fell into the elevator and dove to hit the button. The doors began to close, allowing her to see down the catwalk long enough for Krauser to come into view. Krauser fired her machine gun at the door, was too far away for the shots to be accurate, and the bullets tore through the mesh screen above Ada's head.

"Good, waste your damn bullets," Ada hissed as the elevator rose.

It went up slowly, allowing Ada some time to lie on her back and think. Her body was one, aching sore, especially her right side. Her arm was red from being singed in the fight with Saddler, and some ribs had been broken by a kick from Krauser, where she'd been to slow to dodge. She was bleeding and bruised from a number of other wounds, and was low on ammo. Getting away from Saddler, then Krauser, had drained her badly, and now she found herself hoping Claire would come to her rescue.

-Waiting for Claire to save you, Ada you are in trouble,- she thought, smiling.

Cursing, she got to her feet and took the Plaga sample from her belt pouch. She tried to think of where she might hide the sample so Krauser wouldn't find it. Her vagina and anus were her first two ideas, which she nixed. "Krauser will look there, where she thinks I'm hiding something or not," Ada said to herself. "Guess we'll see what's up top, then."

When the elevator came to a stop and Ada stepped out, moving slowly despite her brief rest. The room was sparsely furnished, but seemed larger because of the big windows that surrounded it. She took the sample and put it in a desk, under some papers, then hid behind filing cabinets.

The elevator was called back down, and Ada waited, her machine gun pointed at the door. After a few long minutes, the glass behind her smashed, and she turned too late to avoid a kick from Krauser that hit her in the burnt arm and sent her machine gun clattering over the floor.

Another kick to her wound, and she screamed. Krauser picked her up by the hair and punched her twice over the kidneys, taking the will to fight out of her and leaving her to flop on the floor. Krauser frisked her, removing her weapons and grappling gun. "Where is it?" Krauser asked, standing up and putting her boot down on Ada's stomach.

"Where's what?"

The boot came down again over her intestines and pressed down. Ada made a strangled cry and heard Krauser draw her knife. "The sample. Tell me where it is now and I'll just cut your throat and let you bleed out in peace. Play tough and I'll break you."

"All you have to do, Krauser, is transfer five million dollars to my Swiss bank account, and I'll...urk."

The toe of Krauser's boot was pressing into her. She tried to push her off, but didn't have the strength. When Krauser began kicking her, Ada considered telling her where the sample was. -No, she'll kill you once she has it. See how this plays out...hang...on..."

None of the blows found her head, as Krauser knew what she was doing and aimed only for soft or wounded spots on her body. When it was over she was again lifted by the hair and dragged over to a table where she was flopped up on it. Krauser's knife cut open her dress and removed the bikini top she'd been wearing underneath. Fingers probed her vagina, spreading her open and making her grasp. She let out a small shriek when the fingers entered her anus.

"So, where is it then?" Krauser asked. "Did you throw it in the ocean?"

"I sold it to a seagull for a fish," Ada said, earning Krauser's hand clamped over her burned arm. She screamed and writhed, and swatting at Krauser but to no avail. "I'm going to kill you, Krauser," she said.

Krauser sucked her fingers and jammed them roughly into Ada's vagina, working her back and forth. "No, you're not," she said. "I think I'll keep you alive, Wong. I'll have Saddler infect you, and with the power he's given me, once it's all mine, I'll make you my dog. How's that sound?"

"Shitty," said Ada.

"I don't know, Wong, I think you like it. I can feel you getting wet. This is how you like it, right? Rough?"

Ada turned her head away, letting Krauser think she'd scored a point. There was a smile on Ada's face, however, one that might be mistaken for a grimace by those who didn't know her well. Krauser's rough fingers did feel good, and she was getting wet. The pain she felt, once she focused on it, was a warm, glowing sensation, and the feeling of helplessness and despair that was now on her was like a blanket with fingers, reach places deep inside her that rarely got touched.

She liked it.

-Play away, bitch,- Ada thought. -Have your fun, let me get my strength back, think of a plan...-

Krauser pulled her fingers out and rolled Ada onto her stomach. She was strong enough to bend Ada like a doll with little effort, and Ada felt her knees pulled under her, and her hands bound behind her, under her buttocks. Her ankles followed, and now Ada did begin to truly wonder how she'd been getting out of this.

-Maybe I won't,- she thought. -Well, you play with fire long enough, you get burned.-

Krauser got on the table with Ada and knelt behind her, thrusting the cock she sported into Ada's vagina. She was rough, ramming into Ada while squeezing her ass enough to leave finger-shaped bruises. Ada cried out, not feeling like she had to pretend it didn't hurt.

"Anytime you want this to stop, tell where the sample is," said Krauser.

"Never," said Ada. "Fuck me harder!"

Krauser did as she was asked, filling the room with loud slapping sounds as their hips connected. Ada screamed under each thrust, feeling herself come beneath the agony. Krauser grunted, gripping Ada's ass harder as fluid dripped from between them onto the table.

She felt Krauser sag a bit. "Spent so soon? That big mutant cock is wasted on you, Krauser. Maybe in another universe you'll be born with a real one and know how to...eek!"

The slap across her buttock echoed in the room and Krauser began thrusting harder than before. The table shook and Ada thought it might break. "Well, well, well," Krauser said, slowing her ramming and lifting her body higher to peer at something. "Looks like Redfield and the girl are on their way here. Think I got time to nail you in the ass before they get here?"

Ada had to choose her words carefully, quickly. "No, don't," she said, and grunted when Krauser's cock slipped from her vagina to anus. Ada felt it spread her open, making her clench around it. She had no control, however, and Krauser thrust harder than ever, cursing as she came.

She pulled out and delivered a powerful slap to Ada's backside, making her cry out. "Don't worry, slut. If you're not killed in the crossfire, there'll be more for you. Last chance, tell me where the sample is and I'll kill your friend quick."

She almost said "The desk by the elevator," but held her tongue. -Hope I don't regret it,- she thought.

Chapter Thirty-Three.

"Wow, it's higher than I thought," Ashley said as they went down the long walkway towards the tower.

"Maybe we can see what's waiting for us up ahead if we climb it," Claire said, reaching the base of the tower and pushing the call button on the elevator.

"Who would want to take the stairs?" Ashley asked, pointing to a set of metal steps that were partially concealed off to the side and ran all the way up the tower.

"A crazy person. Dunno, depends on how good the elevator is."

"Kinda slow," said Ashley, and Claire had to agree as her neck began to hurt from looking up. When the elevator arrived Claire almost didn't see the holes in the mesh part of the door before they opened. Once she saw them, she noticed other things, like the small smear of blood on the elevator's floor. When Claire looked back, she noted the spent bullet casings on the ground.

"What is it?" asked Ashley, waiting for Claire to step on the elevator.

"Something's wrong," said Claire. "Okay...I'm going to go up those stairs. When you see me get halfway up, go into the elevator and push the button for the top, then get off. Wait down here, and if trouble comes, go up the stairs as fast as you can, got it?"

Ashley nodded, clearly not liking the idea of being left alone.

Claire began her trek upward and picked up the pace when she heard the elevator move. She slowed down near the top, wanting to remain quiet. The stairs led out into a walkway that surrounded the cabin at the top of the tower, and Claire peered into one of the windows.

She ducked immediately when she saw what was inside.

Krauser was crouched off to the side of the elevator, knife in hand. Krauser been looking to her right, across the room, and hadn't seen Claire, who risked another peek. It was hard to pull her back down after seeing Ada's nude form trussed up and set on a table. Her body was sleek with sweat and blood, and she looked like she'd taken a severe beating.

Claire drew the big magnum and moved around so she could shoot Krauser in the back when the elevator opened. Moving into position, she listened for the elevator, and when she heard the doors open, she waited a second, letting Krauser make her move.

Then Ashley screamed.

-You've got to be joking,- Claire thought, keeping crouched, no longer sure if Krauser wouldn't kill Ashley.

Ashley's rifle discharged and the window near Claire shattered. There was the sound of a scuffle and Claire took the chance to leap over the previously broken window into the room, where she crouched low, behind a desk.

There was the sound of flesh smacking against flesh, and a slumping to the floor. "Where's the other one?" Krauser asked. "Tell me, or I'm cutting your damn nose off. I'm tired of screwing around."

"D-down there, with the monster!" Ashley shouted. "It's coming!"

Claire could hear Krauser hitting the girl and decided it was time. She stood from cover and Krauser had her hand raised to deal Ashley another blow.

"Bitch!" Claire shouted, making Krauser turn. Krauser moved in time to avoid having her head blown off, but instead the bullet severed her arm at the elbow. The appendage fell to the ground and blood ran down Krauser's side as she staggered away. Claire fired twice more, the recoil of the magnum making it feel like her hands were breaking. Krauser had two gaping holes in her torso and she slumped against the wall, her head drooping down.

"Damn it, why the hell didn't you listen!?" Claire shouted at Ashley, who recoiled for a moment before glaring.

"Because there's a God damn monster downstairs!" she shrieked.

Claire felt the tower shake.

"Little help..." said Ada, and Claire ran to her, cutting her bonds with her knife.

"Ada, Jesus, what did she do to you?"

"We can tell Penthouse later. Get me my gear and lets get out of here before whatever that is makes its way up."

It hurt Ada to stand and walk, but she was soon outfitted once again with her weapons and gun belt. She tied the tattered remains of her dress around her waist and limped with Claire to the elevator with Ashley. "Wait, hang on," said Ada, stumbling towards a desk, which she began to riffle through.

The windows overlooking the catwalk smashed in, and Claire saw a pair of gray mandibles coming together, latching into a beam and pulling what she imagined to be a huge worm up and through the gap. It wasn't a worm, however, but a man's torso. A giant man, whose lower face was nothing but a long, twisting tongue. One of its arms was misshapen, more of a thick tendril, and it too helped haul the rest of it up.

The body was grub-like, ash she'd imagined, but it was propelled by four, three-toed, clawed feet. The mandibles grew off a stalk protruding from the creature's back.

"Ada, let's go!" Claire shouted, moving to pull her to the elevator, whether she liked it or not. They were nearly to the elevator door when something hit them from the side, bowling them both over as the other half of the room was being demolished.

Krauser was on top of Ada, holding her down with her arm and squeezing her throat. From the stump where her other appendage had been, something was wiggling out, like a worm. It grew longer, thicker, and began to take the shape of a curved blade.

Ada fired her grappling gun at the big monster, the got up to move around in back of Krauser. She wrapped the gun end of the line around Krauser's throat and ducked a jab from the blade-arm as she finished tangling Krauser, who was soon pulled off Claire and towards the monster.

They were finally in the elevator, and Ashley hit the button that made the doors close and the box descend.

"That was Krauser!" Ashley shouted. "I thought she died...she found Annette and me in the furnace room and got attacked by a monster."

Claire was not entirely sure who she wanted to win the fight between the thing and Krauser, but something else had her attention now. "Ada, what's in that tube?" she asked.

Ada held the tube up, showing Claire. "Business. Are you going to try and take it from me?"

"We can thumb wrestle for it later," Claire said.

"Sounds like a date," Ada said, letting her head rest against the back of the elevator.

Chapter Thirty-Four.

They got clear of the communication tower before Claire attempted to use the radio. When Hunnigan's voice came through the speaker, Claire shouted in triumph.

Claire! What's happening, report! Hunnigan said.

I've secured the president's daughter and I'm requesting immediate evac, Claire said, then explained as best she could where they were and where they were headed. Any support you could send would be great, we're not out of the hot zone yet.

It was clear from her tone that Hunnigan had hours worth of questions, but she didn't ask them. Alright, we're sending a chopper to the LZ you described. Keep us informed.

Will do, said Claire.

Claire looked at Ada and Ashley as they stood waiting for her cue. Ada seemed like she could use a few day's rest, perhaps more than a few, while Ashley looked about the same. -The parasites are out, we're not dead...- We can do this, she said.

Who said we couldn't? replied Ada. We've been in bigger trouble.

Claire thanked Ada with a smile after seeing that Ashley took comfort from her words. I don't know what's going to happen, so I want you to hang back, and when the chopper comes, get on it. Don't wait for us, whatever happens. Understand?

Ashley nodded, but Claire doubted the girl would leave without her.

They made their way through ravines that had been worn in the rock by years of running water, leaving rough, porous rocks. Claire anticipated traps, but found none, nor where there any ganado to bar their path.

Saddler wants to end this at the platform, said Ada. I think he knows that's the only place a chopper can set down easily, and he doesn't want the girl killed on accident.

He must have heard us over the radio, too, said Claire. Or do you think that tower was where all his comm equipment was?

It doesn't change what we have to do, either way, said Ada.

The ravine widened out into a sandy hill that led up to a ramshackle guard tower. The wall fencing off the exit of the ravine was made from car frames and construction debris, but the makeshift gate lie open. Atop the tower was a ganado wearing a red bandana, who took it off and waived it when he saw them. He shouted something that might have been Spanish, but was warped in such a way that it didn't sound human.

A dozen ganado came running out the door, slowing down as they moved towards the women. Behind them were more ganado. A few looked like they were from the village, but most were dressed in ragged clothing suggesting they had been prisoners or dock workers. Each carried a heavy tool, club, or blade.

Guess Saddler was lying about letting us through, said Claire, the good feeling she'd had early now gone.

We'll need to make our shots count, said Ada.

Claire knew they could wipe out a lot of ganado, but if they all rushed at once there was no way they'd be able to pick their shots. She was about to call for them to retreat into the ravines to create a choke point when she heard the deep drone of a helicopter. That's our ride, Claire said. Fall back, maybe there's a way around or somewhere it can lower a rope.

Her radio came to life and a man's voice she'd never heard before came through. Ladies...looks like you could use a little help down there. The chopper was above them now, and Claire could see it was an old-style Huey. The side door slid open and the mini-gun whirred, pouring sheets of lead into the crowd of ganado.

Ooh, Ada said, nudging Claire's shoulder. Ashley made a gasping, retch noise at the sight of the gun's work. Claire was impressed, but didn't particularly care for the sight of people being turned to hamburger a dozen yards away. The mini-gun paused long enough to let an other group of ganado rush out from behind the fence, then shredded them.

Let us clear this out, and we'll meet you at the platform, said the voice over the radio.

Can't they get us now? asked Ashley.

That's not a rescue chopper, said Claire. It doesn't have the hoisting equipment to get you up safe. Someone thought it was better to send a gunship. Come on!

They ran up the hill, over the bodies of ganado. The parasites that controlled them had not survived and Claire tried not to think about the men they'd been. It was slow going over the corpses, but they gained the camp easily enough. Claire used her pistol to kill the few stragglers the chopper had missed, while it whirred above them, firing its mini-gun as well as rockets from the front.

Past the camp was another ravine that had been widened it into a road. It sloped upward, and at the top was the spot they'd been seeking. A metal deck was being built from the cliff side out over the ocean. Whatever it was supposed to be, it wasn't complete, as a handful of scaffolds stood around metal frames. To one side was a crane holding a bundle of girders.

They walked out onto the platform and waited for the chopper to circle around. It was over the water when an arrow thumped into the front end, stuck for a moment, then exploded. Claire watched the vehicle drop, taking the men inside to the rocks bellow and out of sight.

Well, shit, said Ada.

Krauser stepped out from behind a scaffold. Her shirt and pants were torn, her arm back to normal, and she carried a bow. Covered in blood and viscera, Claire could only see her wide eyes, glaring at them with hate. Looks like you're flight's been canceled, she said.

Looks like you'll...be refunding our tickets, then, Claire said.

Tsk, tsk, said Saddler as he also stepped out from behind the scaffold. I thought American's were supposed to be full of one-liners.

You are kinda bad at it, Ada said, under her breath.

Yeah, well I'm real good at killing Los Illuminados. How many are left, Saddler? Mendez, Salazar, just about all the ganado...I think I even got Krauser there to bump off the ugliest one for me, next to you of course.

Saddler laughed. You won't be killing anymore of us, that I assure you. This ends here, you see. You end here, no matter what. Even if poor Ashley doesn't survive, you will pay for what you've done!

Claire didn't know whether to feel good about having angered Saddler or afraid. She knew fighting him was going to be tough, and had not expected to have to handle Krauser, too.

Let me kill them, Krauser said, nocking another arrow. I want to...urk.

Something flesh colored and pale was sticking between Krauser's breasts, dripping with her blood. It lifted her off her feet and Claire could see it trailed out from beneath Saddler's robe. I can handle them. Thank you for shooting down the helicopter, Krauser, but your usefulness to me is at an end. You should know I was aware of your double agent status the entire time. When you see them in hell, tell those fools Alexia Ashford and Albert Wesker that their dreams were simply not meant to be.

The tentacle tossed Krauser backward and her flailing body disappeared over the edge of the platform. Saddler pulled back his hood, showing his gray streaked hair that had been combed backward. You, woman, he said to Ada. You have something that belongs to me. Hand it over and I will kill you quickly. You won't have to see what I do to this one.

Enough of your bullshit, Claire said, drawing her magnum and firing. It hit Saddler in the head, above the left eye, and removed that portion of his skull. He snarled, and opened his mouth, wide, showing her a massive eyeball pushing its way up his throat, peeling open his jaw.

Out from under his collar flowed more tendrils like the one that stabbed Krauser. They popped and broke, forming new, spider-leg appendages that lifted Saddler off his feet while his neck tore open and was lifted up and away by a long, thick tentacle.

Ashley, run! Claire said, firing her magnum into the thing's center, hoping to hit something vital on the creature, which was reminding her of a G-virus mutant as it continued to change. What had been Saddler's head was now surrounded by three mandibles, the eye rolling around seeking target for them. The thing moved on four stilt-like legs, trailing Saddler's body and slithering tentacles bellow it.

Move around, make it chase one of us, shouted Ada, as she ran.

It went after Ada, and Claire was careful to pick her shots in case they missed and went past the beast. Ashley scurried over to the edge of the platform and rested her rifle over a barrel. -Just don't shoot one of us,- Claire thought, as she tried to think of a way to kill the Saddler monster. Her shots were finding their marks, but the thing was not slowing down.

Ada ran behind one of the smaller scaffolds and Saddler swatted it aside. Ada wasn't moving as fast as she normally could, and the monster was gaining ground on her, even as Claire fired at its legs.

There was a cracking sound from Ashley's rifle and something at the top of one of the legs exploded. -A soft spot...and she hit it!- Claire thought, glancing over to see Ashley where she had been. The monster staggered and turned in that direction, showing its flank to Claire who was refreshing the magazine on the magnum.

The leg Ashley had hit was moving again, and Claire looked to the other to try and see what Ashley had aimed at. She saw it quick enough, it was a great yellow eye that when closed couldn't be distinguished from the chitinous hide. It saw her and she fired, destroying it and causing Saddler to stumble.

His head wheeled around towards her and the body went with it. Tendrils snaked towards her legs as the head moved like a pendulum, sweeping closer. Rather than fight, she ran, hoping it would bide Ada time to rest and come up with a plan to kill the thing.

She ran towards the crane, not sure how that would help her but there was nowhere else to go. Claire went beneath the load of girders it held aloft, and got her idea when she reached the crane cab. Saddler was coming at her in a straight line at a steady pace, so she took aim at the cable that held the girders, waited until he was beneath them, and fired. The shot was true, the cable broke, and the girders came down in the center of the thing's back, knocking it to the ground.

She emptied the magnum's magazine into the monster and felt her wrists burn and ears ring. She could see where the powerful bullets had left wounds, but the monster only lashed out and tried to gain leverage to heave the girders pinning it down.

Running around it, she met Ada halfway. We can't kill it like this, Ada said, panting. We should run.

Where? If that thing can go over rocks, it'll get us in the ravine where we can't duck it.

Allow me, said Ashley, and they both turned.

She was completely nude and carrying a rocket propelled grenade launcher. Claire felt her jaw come open, and Ashley nodded towards where she'd been standing. The pervert was there, holding a camera and making a thumbs-up gesture. Ashley stepped between the two women and aimed the launcher at Saddler, who had thrown off the girders holding him down and was turning around. When he completed the turn, he began stepping towards them.

Um...it won't shoot, Ashley said, a note of panic in her voice. Claire reached out and flipped a switch on the launcher's side, above the trigger. Ashley thanked her and fired. The rocket sped towards Saddler and for a brief moment Claire imagined it missing, but it didn't. It hit his center where it disappeared for a second prior to exploding, sending Saddler's various limbs in different directions.

Ada slapped Ashley hard on the buttocks. Nice shot, she said.

Ow...thanks.

Claire slapped her on the other cheek and smiled when she turned. Way to go. We'd be in a lot of trouble if you had missed.

That was tops, said the pervert, now close by. He handed Ashley her clothes and she got dressed quickly. Can't tell ye how long I been waitin' for someone to off that bloke. He was horrible fer business.

Claire sensed it was time to tell the pervert what she thought of him and his business, but the sound of another helicopter took her mind off it. They saw the chopper was coming towards them from the sea, and as it drew closer, Claire noticed Ada was fidgeting. Your ride? Claire asked.

Ada nodded. We don't have to do this, you know, she said.

I can't let you give that sample to whoever you're working for, Claire said.

Better the United State's has it, right? I'm sure they won't misuse it.

Better nobody has it, Claire said. Let me destroy it. Or do you want what happened here to happen somewhere else?

You don't know as much as you think you do, Claire, Ada said, her voice sharp. You're not completely out of the woods yet, so don't hurt yourself needlessly.

We had a deal, Claire said, divesting herself of her weapons. Give me the sample, last warning.

Ashley stepped back, moving behind the pervert, who was filming again.

We did have a deal, Ada said, removing a pair of sunglasses from her pocket. One of the frames was missing, and she toyed with them a moment before tossing them to Claire, who caught them. She had time to look at them, see they were nothing ordinary, before they exploded in a flash of light that made Claire stagger. She felt something hit her, sending her to the ground. She scrambled to her feet, seeing nothing but white, and having lost her sense of place shouted at Ada.

The noise from the helicopter was loud, removing Claire's remaining sense. Ashley! she shouted, fearing the girl would be taken again, this time by God only knew who. She felt soft hands on her shoulders and knew they were Ashley's. They held her until the sound of the chopper died down and her vision returned, leaving a green spot in the middle of everything she tried to look at.

Did you film who she left with? Claire asked the pervert.

Yeah. Wanna see it?

Claire growled, and the pervert held up his hands. Alright, alright. I'm not completely heartless, here, take a look.

Claire blinked and shook her head, willing the spot in her vision to clear. It didn't, but she was able to see using her peripheral vision Ada running towards the helicopter, which had hovered a few feet above the platform, allowing her to jump on. A lithe figure in black helped her aboard, and Claire could see flowing black hair. No one she knew.

Come on, Claire, we're alive, we beat the bad guy...we're together.

Heh, heh, laughed the pervert. Eh, you might want to know this whole islands going to blow up any minute now.

Say what? Claire asked, blinking hard in an effort to get the green spot to leave.

That old boy had a pacemaker type thing wired to him so when he died it would trigger a countdown. There's enough explosive under our feet to send this entire place to the moon.

How do we get off? Claire asked. And don't ask us to do weird sex things, you need to get out, too.

True, true, he said. Follow me, I know a way.

They went with him to the other end of the platform where an elevator like the one that had been in the communication tower took them down a shaft into the rock. Is there a boat, or something? Claire asked.

That's what I'm hopin', said the pervert, as the elevator shook. Looks like it's started...not much time now.

Claire assumed the other end of the island was being destroyed, that being where the Plaga research was conducted. She wondered what happened to Annette, but kept quiet, not wanting to upset Ashley. How are your eyes? Ashley asked. I was blind for a bit, but I didn't get it right in the face like you did.

The green spot was still at the center of Claire's vision, making her able to do little more than find her way around. The elevator shook from a powerful tremor, and she grabbed Ashley's shoulder. Not good, she said. It's nothing permanent, but I'm not much use right now.

When their ride ended, Ashley led Claire off the elevator. They were in a cavern lit by flickering bulbs. Claire could hear water and make out a pair of jet skis. The pervert tapped Claire on the shoulder and handed her a business card. If this riskin' life n' limb gig don't work out, look me up, I may have some business opportunities for ye.

Yeah, whatever, Claire said.

The pervert jumped onto one of the jet skis and sped off down a channel. The cavern began to shake violently and she heard the sound of rocks splashing into water. Climb on! Ashley shouted, jumping onto the remaining jet ski and starting it. Claire had never been on a jet ski and as she couldn't see, didn't argue. She gripped Ashley's hips tight and nearly fell off the back. The rifle and shotgun she let slip from her shoulders.

Claire could see well enough to know the channel they were speeding down was collapsing. Ashley had clearly used a jet ski before and dodged falling rocks and other debris that would end them. A few times Claire felt herself showered in dirt and larger rocks, but Ashley was able to keep ahead of the collapse and slip under it when it got in front of them. Claire held on and gritted her teeth, trusting Ashley to save them. She cheered when she saw a white light through her spotty vision and after the jet ski scraped something, they went airborne.

She nearly fell off the jet ski when it hit the water, and her teeth came together hard. Suddenly they were pushed forward by a wave caused by the falling rocks behind them. Ashley ran the motor and kept them in control, circling back to face the ruined island as the waves made them move up and down.

Good work, kiddo, Claire said. You killed the bad guy and made the escape.

Did I get the girl?

Claire touched the back of Ashley's neck, then kissed it. Yeah, you got the girl, too.

Her radio was wet, but it was designed to survive partial submersion. Claire held it up and pushed the talk button only to have it grabbed and thrown in the ocean.

Ashley turned around on the jet ski, one leg moving over Claire's lap settling back down. They know we're somewhere around here, they'll find us. Eventually, said Ashley, and kissed Claire before she could speak.

Chapter Thirty-Five.

Epilogue.

Jacqueline Krauser drew short, haggard breaths, spitting out sand and saltwater as her head cleared and vision returned. Her entire body felt like an exposed nerve. Saddler's attack had torn key support muscles in her torso, and while they were on their way to healing it would be some time yet before she felt alright again. She crawled up the beach using the strength left in her arms and found a rock to splay herself on. Naked from the waist up she tried not to think on her condition lest rage overtake her and slow the healing process.

Krauser knew Saddler was dead. The parasite inside her body had felt the lost connection between them immediately and at first it was sick with panic, but given that it's host was near death it overcame the loss and now seemed calm and content, unlike Krauser herself.

-Shit,- Krauser thought. -Wesker will want to use me for the sample now. Guess I can't go back to him, not if I want to live.-

Rage flared in her breast, sending pain throughout her body. The power she wielded was immense but the kind of power she wielded and the sort needed to take control of the world were not one and the same.

A shadow fell over her, and she could not see who it belonged to. Fingers gripper her short hair and hoisted her up so a fist could strike her in the chest where she had been wounded. The blow sapped the fight from her and she was dropped to her knees and kicked.

Wesker... she spat.

No, not Wesker, said Annette Birkin. Just someone who owes you a little payback.

Krauser felt her fatigues torn and ripped down before something long and hard was jammed into her from behind. She squirmed, trying to crawl away, but the blood loss and the swim to shore had taxed her considerable strength to its limit. The parasite inside her sensed another of its kind nearby and began to writhe. Krauser grunted, aware that some sort of power struggle was occurring and she and her parasite were losing.

Annette gripped her buttocks tight and Krauser felt her come. The fluid filled her up and leaked out as the cock pulled back to enter her anus. Krauser grunted and fell forward, unable to fight back. She felt her rage in her go quiet along with the thrashing of her parasite. When Annette finished for the second time she let Krauser fall flat on the ground then rolled her onto her back using a foot.

Annette wore nothing but a ruined lab coat. The dripping cock receded into her, leaving only a thin slit above the pink cleft between her legs. Can you walk? Annette asked. Crawl, if you can't.

I can't move, said Krauser. What do you want with me?

I want lots of things from you, and from the world, said Annette. We're two of a kind now, Krauser. Can't you feel it? You're going to serve me the same way you served Saddler, but hopefully with a little more loyalty.

Krauser's head was pounding and she rubbed her temples while avoiding eye contact with Annette. Her parasite saw Annette the same way it had seen Saddler. It wasn't fair, Krauser thought, but then again, what in this world ever was? We need to get out of here, Krauser said, managing to sit up with Annette's help.

We do, but we need a few things first. Her cock slid out of her, glistening with fluid. Suck it.

Krauser did as she was told, and took Annette into her mouth, moving her tongue over the sensitive part of the cock while working the rest with her hand. Annette did not try to hold out, and soon a wash of fluid filled Krauser's mouth. Swallow, said Annette. All of it.

Krauser gulped it down and felt some of her strength return and she was able to stand. Alright, lead the way. Before the BSAA or the Americans come.

XXX

Sending fools to do your work makes you a fool, said Alexia Ashford. She stood in front of a series of beakers, each one a different shade of yellow. She wore a white dress that was kept tight to her body by hoops. The collar made it look Victorian, but the rubber gloves threw the image off.

Wesker didn't like being called a fool, but from Alexia he would have to tolerate it. It was a difficulty he'd anticipated in deciding to work with her. We'll simply have to obtain a Plaga sample from its new owners, said Wesker. This is a job I can preform, as the level of talent in this organization has dwindled.

See that you do, Alexia said. It's unfortunate I had to be in a coma for fifteen years while Umbrella destroyed itself. It seems I underestimated the power of incompetence, as have you. Now instead of trying to steal something from a pathetic cult you'll have to deal with people who are far more capable.

Wesker thought he might like to cave Alexia's head in but attacking her would lead to the destruction of the compound they were in and set him back years. He was close to his goal, and all he needed now was the Plaga sample. Well, no time to waste, then, he said, and left.

XXX

I'm not a lesbian, Chris, Claire said. She and her brother were in the mess hall of an army base somewhere in Nevada, world away from where she'd been not so long ago. Claire had a Styrofoam cup half full of warm cocoa and wore a white outfit that had more in common with paper than cloth. She had been told several times by people she didn't know that she was not a prisoner, but neither could she leave. Her brother sat across from her with dark rings under his eyes. It had been nearly a week since the Plaga incident, and she wondered what was still keeping him up at night.

It's not that you're a lesbian, he said. It's who you're a lesbian with. An enemy spy, the president's daughter...

I'm not a lesbian, she said. And I thought you knew about me and Ashley.

I thought you were close, I didn't think...you know what, that part of you life is none of my business. I'm only mad because you've let personal feelings interfere with work. You can't let that happen, otherwise...

Otherwise what? Everything turns out fine? she knew her words were foolish the moment she had spoken them. Everything had not turned out fine.

Fine? Nothing is fine, Claire. That Plaga sample getting taken was the worst thing that could have happened. He looked around the mess hall before lowering his voice. Honestly, if we knew what had been at stake we would have sent a team in to recover the sample, Ashley Graham be damned. No offense.

Yeah, well...

Yeah, well, you should've shot that Ada woman in the back if that's what was necessary. She played you like a fiddle.

She's the only reason we're alive, Claire said, now angry. Sorry, Chris, we can't all be super heroes.

His hands and teeth clenched, but he relaxed, looking more tired than ever before. I'm sorry. It's just that with these bioweapons it seems like a genie has been let out of a bottle. I, we, keep stuffing it back in but each time it comes out it's a little bit worse. I'm afraid each incident is going to be the last, and now that you're involved...

Chris, she said, grabbing his hand across the table. This is everybody's problem. There isn't some world I can go back to where this isn't happening. I can't go have a normal life, there isn't one to have. It's just this. All there is is for me to stay and fight. I can't ask you not to worry, I worry about you, but just get over the fact that I'm a part of this.

Yeah, I know, it's just...well, anyway, I think they're going to let you out of here pretty soon they just want to make sure you're not a Plaga carrier. No one's too sure how the things work; the explosion destroyed a lot of Saddler's research.

Birkin, what about her?

The search team found no sign of her and the fire bombing will make sure no one ever does.

And Krauser?

No sign of Krauser so I wouldn't assume she's dead. You made yourself a fine enemy, there.

What about my job prospects?

That's up to your bosses. I'm with the BSAA, remember? I guess it depends on what the media finds out about you and Ashley. So far there's been no word she was kidnapped but rumors have been flying. I think the Graham administration is hoping the outlandishness of what went down will keep it hidden. Who would believe it if they hadn't seen it?

Do you think I'll see her again...? Claire said, looking into her cocoa cup and swishing it.

I think that'll be up to her so you probably know the answer to that better than me.

Claire drained the rest of her cocoa, smiling at the memory of her and Ashley on the jet ski.

End.

Author's note: For those of you still interested in this series, I'm a little less than half done the sequel, which uses Resident Evil 5 as it's basis. Expect less chapters, but expect them to be longer. Expect a new gal pal for Claire with Ada mucking it all up. Expect less Femme Krauser. And to apologize for the long delay between updates, here is the prologue to Women in Red 4.

Prologue.

A wire mesh fence, glittering in the sunlight from recent rain, wound its way around a sagging rectangular building made of tin sheets and gray wood. The building sat at the foot of a wide ditch which snaked upward between a pair of hills, the higher of the two capped in white, melting snow. An olive colored Humvee was plowing its way its up the trail while another was parked beyond the fence, having not so long ago driven through the gate, breaking the rusted chain that held it.

Chris Redfield stepped out the Humvee and drew his sidearm, a .45 caliber pistol with a laser sight and flashlight fixed to the barrel. The man who got out of the Humvee with him saw him take out the gun and quickly drew his own. Contact? he asked.

Chris looked at him before he could conceal his exasperation. The rookie showed no sign of taking it personally; even green BSAA personnel had been around the block once or twice. No, Chris said. Just a feeling, and the gun won't do any good in its holster.

Right, sir, said the rookie. Green was his name, and in terms of BSAA experience, Green he was.

Two other men in fatigues and body armor got out of the Humvee. Each carried an assault rifle and the four men approached the tin building with their guns leveled at it. It was possible someone inside might wish to shoot them, but Chris's primary concern was booby traps and biohazards. If he was lucky all he would have to deal with would be a bomb that would tear his body apart. It beat being transformed into a shambling horror, in his opinion.

He approached the door at an angle, as did Green, with the other two men behind them and farther back. There was a padlock on the door which brought back memories he would rather not have dealt with.

The last time he had breached a door, it had been at the Spencer mansion with his partner Jill Valentine. They had gone to the place to apprehend Oswald Spencer, one of Umbrella Inc.'s founders and hence the father of countless atrocities. They had found the withered old man in a pool of his own blood on the floor, still connected to the machines he had been hooked to in a desperate, pathetic attempt to keep alive as long as he could. Standing over the dead man had been a monster wearing the skin of a man, Albert Wesker. His hand dripped with Spencer's blood and what ensued was a terrifying blur of a battle from which some Chris's bones remained broken.

From across the room, their bullets had been sidestepped. Up close, they had little effect when they punctured Wesker's black coat and splattered into his flesh. Up close, he could strike them, and he had. It had been a blow to Chris's ego that Wesker had been toying with them. He was no longer human and while Chris had killed many inhuman things, none had the mind of a man. All had been bestial things, fueled by rage and unable to think. The viruses manufactured by Umbrella stripped away a person's humanity in more ways than one, but Wesker's mind had never been human to begin with in Chris's opinion.

He was not entirely sure how the fight reached its conclusion, things had been so fast, his head a swirling mass of confusion. Wesker had stopped playing and was about to kill him when Jill tackled him. They had been near a glass door which opened onto a short balcony that overlooked a gorge. Jill had gone out and over with Wesker, and that was the last Chris saw of his longtime friend and partner. Neither body was recovered, which to Chris was the worst part. There would be no closure for Jill and no guarantee Wesker had died given Chris had seen him survive things no human could.

He blinked, bringing his mind back to the task at hand. I'll get the lock, he said as one of the riflemen started to step forward. He dealt the door two hard kicks and rather than open, its hinges broke and it fell backward into the dark building. He turned on his gun's flashlight and seeing nothing in the doorway that looked dangerous, he entered quickly, his finger on the gun's trigger.

The others came in behind him with lights and Chris saw the building was empty.

Nothing, Green said. It's a bust.

Maybe, said Chris, turning his attention to the floor. Look here. See the seam. Sloppy.

He watched the rookie's face, thinking he might have taken the sloppy comment as being directed at him, but Green nodded as he saw what Chris was talking about. There was a seam in the floor forming a square ten feet on each side. A hatch? asked Green.

An elevator, Chris said. No hinges, see. Just have to find the controls.

Here! shouted one of the riflemen. He stood next to a fuse box and had pulled it open to reveal a set of elevator buttons.

Chris nodded with approval. Johnson was the rifleman and no stranger to Umbrella's operations. Push it, said Chris.

The floor within the seam dropped down with a mechanical sound and slid under the floor while an elevator platform rose up. There was another set of buttons on a console there, and Chris bid Green and other other rifleman, Williams, to get on with him. Johnson, you've got our backs, Chris said.

Shouldn't we report this? Green said.

Johnson's got us covered, Chris said. Besides, there's probably nothing down there, given the crummy job they went through to hide the place.

The elevator descended, revealing an old but soundly built shaft that ended in a long, dimly lit hallway quite unlike the ramshackle building above them. I'll take point, Chris said, walking ahead. Green was behind him with Williams bringing up the rear. The hall ended in a T junction. The wall in front of them was lined with oval shaped windows clouded with moisture and grime. To the right was a metal door, which Chris went to and signaled the other two men to keep behind him while he forced it open. It retraced into the door frame sideways and was designed to do so on its own, but whatever mechanism that opened it was not working.

The room contained shelves that had once held scientific instruments judging by the few that remained. In the center, between the shelves, were three glass tubes, each big enough to hold something the size of a man but were now dry and empty. Chris stepped inside, his gun raised, and spun around when the door slammed shut behind him.

There was shouting on both sides of the door as the room and hallway outside were flooded with lights and the sound of machinery turning on. Chris began pulling at the door while Green and Williams tried the same before they began trying to break the windows. They did not succeed and Chris could see there was no hope in trying to break through. Stop! Stop! he shouted. Wait there, I'll find a way out and around.

He could hear something else under the sound of the heating and air system, something that made his stomach feel like cement had been poured into it. No, he whispered. No. Get out! Get back to the elevator! Run!

He attacked the door again, pulling at it with all his might. He emptied a magazine into the glass, which flattened his bullets and displayed small white scratches. There was gunfire from the hall now, and it was not aimed at the door or glass. Get out! he shouted. Get. Out!

The sound of their bullets retreated down the hall as the hall itself filled with bobbing, moaning forms. He could barely see them through the dirty glass but knew by how they moved what they were. T-Virus carriers, a horde of them. He could see many were naked while a few wore dirty lab coats or jumpsuits. He could not tell their physical condition but could see they were ambulatory enough to pose a threat.

The gunshots gave way to screams and Chris vented his rage on the door with his fist, feeling the flesh around the fingers and knuckles swell. He stopped before his hand broke and took a deep breath, reminding himself that he would be dead too if he did not use his capacity to think.

Looks like you botched it, said a voice he thought he recognized from behind. He spun around as the zombies outside realized there was meat behind the door and began to pound on it. Should I let them in? said a woman who stepped out from behind one of the glass cylinders. She wore a green tank top under a tactical vest and sported a tattered red beret. Her face was all hard lines and her eyes a piercing blue. Her hair was blond and cut short and over her shoulder was slung a small machine gun.

Explain yourself, now, Chris said, pointing his gun at her.

She grinned and reached into her vest to pull out something square that fit between her fingers. I asked you to meet me here so I could do just that, she said. Too bad you brought your cronies. I told you to come alone.

And you expected me to? he asked, trying to keep his anger from pulling the gun's trigger. What the hell is going on here?

First of all, it wasn't me who released those things. That was you when you tripped a silent alarm. Had you come alone, those two men wouldn't be dead and I'd have your undivided attention.

She had it, he thought, noting her lithe form was attractive in a clinical sense but there was something about her that kept him from feeling it. It was likely the masculine aura she gave off, but there was something else buried there, something that reminded him of Wesker. He had to quint for a moment, thinking madly that perhaps Wesker had a sister, but the resemblance did not hold up to scrutiny. Talk, then, he said. Try to work in some reason why I shouldn't just shoot you.

Shoot me and I'll smash this memory card. I smash the card and you don't get to see what's on it, which would tell you all about this, she said, reaching once more into her vest and pulling out a piece of folded printer paper. She tossed it to him with uncanny accuracy and he caught it against his chest. Unfolding it, mindful of the raving horde behind him, he struggled to make sense of what he saw.

It was a color photograph of a nude woman in a cylinder not unlike the ones in the room with him, only it looked a bit more like a bed on one side. The woman's hair was long and blond and for a moment he did not recognize her. Jill! he said, looking at the strange woman he shared the room with. What the hell is this supposed to be?

This card will tell you more, the woman said. What it won't tell you is why I'm giving it to you, and why I chose to do it down here, like this.

She tucked the card back into her vest pocket and moved towards him, swaying her hips as she went and making him raise his gun in a threatening manner. Stay there or I will shoot you, he said.

Go ahead, it might make this more fun, she said, not slowing down. He backed up into the door and felt the vibrations from the zombies banging on the other side. It occurred to him the door might open suddenly, and he stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and the woman.

Two of my men are dead, he said. You're crazy if you think...hey!

She came in for a kiss but grabbed his crotch instead. He jumped to the side as though he had been electrocuted and swore as he felt himself growing. -I must be messed up in the head if I can get it up here,- he thought.

Lady, I think you've been breathing the air down here too long, he said, his gun still up. She stood with her head cocked to the side, looking halfway between amused and annoyed.

She shrugged. I'm sorry about your men out there, but I think I'm owed a little something for my trouble here, she said. This memory card will tell you where your partner is and some other things you might want to know, but it's not free.

I thought you said you weren't going to tell me why you were giving it to me? he said. You know most women just buy me a drink and typically it works.

This isn't why I'm giving you this information, this is just for fun. I can afford to take it with me when I leave if you want. Other people can accomplish what we need you to.

We? What is it you want me to do? And you're not going anywhere after showing me that photo.

She looked annoyed now, and unslung her machine gun to set it on the shelf next to her. Just cooperate and you'll have all you want, the woman said. Keep this up and I'll leave, and if you want it to get violent, I can do that too.

Chris looked at the oval windows and saw gray and brown hands pressed against them along with some lipless faces. He looked at the woman and felt himself come to full mast. -Oh, you can't be serious,- he thought. I don't even know your name, he said.

Jacqueline Krauser, she said. Call me Jacky and I'll stab you.

He sighed and wiped the sweat from his face. He looked to the zombies and could see some had blood around their mouths from having eaten Green and Williams. He thought of the photo, of the memory card, and the fact this woman, or whatever she was, did not seem overly concerned about the zombies or his gun. Trying to take the card by force might not be the best option, he conceded. Alright, Jacqueline, but can we make it quick?

We'll see, she said, forcing him against one of the shelves and lifting him by the legs so he sat on it. She removed her tactical vest and her tank top revealing a pair of modest-sized breasts that bobbed from a lithe, muscular frame. She undid the front of his pants and took his cock out. Ah, I knew it, she said, feeling its entire length. Annette bet me you were small.

Annette? he said, now wondering if he had not inhaled something and was having a bad experience.

Nobody you know, she said. You should know me, I used to be on your side.

On my...I have heard your name before. You...!

She shoved him backward, hard, and he felt the power behind the blow as it nearly knocked the wind out of him. You're slow. Guess losing your partner had an affect on you. Now that you're caught up, I'm sure you'll see my proposal here is the best option for you.

He kept still, knowing the hand around his cock was strong enough to rip it out along with his pelvis. She was spitting on him, lubing him up and stroking him from base to tip, making him stiffen more. She kept spitting, and he looked up to watch. Keep dreaming, she said, working up another mouthful before letting it fall on him.

She tapped his leg and he lay on the shelf lengthwise while she undid her pants and slid them down to her ankles before hoping on top of him. Leaning over him, her tits tangled over his face as she positioned herself. Little help, she said, and he held his cock straight while she guided it into her.

He felt the soft flesh clench around him like a vice and he grunted while she began to slide back and forth, her breasts wobbling in front of his eyes. He could not stifle a few gasping noises and she made no effort to keep quiet herself.

Yeah, you like it don't lie, she whispered. God, that's good.

Her moans mingled with the muffled ones from outside in the hall, and while his cock was being constricted he felt like he was a long way off from coming, given the circumstances. She gripped his muscular shoulders for support and began thrusting backward into him harder, making muffled slapping noised as her bare buttocks met the top of his pants. What's wrong, Redfield, you don't like girls? Play with my tits, idiot.

He cupped once in each hand and squeezed them. Jacqueline Krauser was an easy woman to please, it seemed, as she moaned louder under his grip. He made no effort to tease her breasts, he simply squeezed them for his own pleasure and feeling their supple springiness he forgot about his surroundings for a brief instant.

Chris's tongue was out and about to give one of her nipples a lick when she began to slam into him harder and shriek. A string of curses filled the air and she felt his cock squeezed tighter, almost enough to keep it from sliding in and out of the tight, wet envelope it was in which drove him speedily towards an orgasm.

He grunted, feeling it rush out of him and into her while he squeezed her breasts tight, which drove her to scream louder. After what felt like long enough to go again, Krauser let out a deep moan and slowed down, letting Chris slip out of her. She went to the floor and was unsteady on her feet as she pulled her pants back up. He watched her taught, round buttocks disappear under her fatigue pants and she kept her muscular back to him as she put on her tank top and vest.

Here, she said, dropping the memory card on his chest as he put his cock back his pants. I'll show you a way out of here, but after that we part company. Don't pull any crap.

You're going to tell what this place is, at least? he said, sliding off the counter top.

It was a research facility Umbrella built for cold-weather B. . Their plan was to set a few loose and see how the natives handled them. Any sightings could be written off as Yeti stories. In typical Umbrella fashion, there was a little accident, and our friends in the hallway are the result.

None of what you're doing makes any sense, Chris said. What is it you want me to do, and what makes you think I'll do it? If you've got Jill hostage...

Shut up, Krauser said, leading him to the back of the room and through a door to another similar room without glass tubes. Once you see what's on that memory card, you'll do what it is you do, and everything else will fall into place. You don't have a choice.

We'll see about that, he said, trying not to watch her backside as it swayed in the flickering light.


	4. Chapter 4 Part 1

**Hey there! Sorry for the long wait. I've been busy procrastinating and working on some other fics. Check out my new RWBY fic; He Looks Good in That Tux.**

**Anyway before we begin I want to clear some misunderstandings I may or may not have had with this story. I DID NOT WRITE THIS STORY. OKAY? So don't complain to me about quality or anything about this story. Now for the previous chapter I apologize I was not aware until now that it lacked quotation marks. I don't know what Clock Tower was thinking. I'll fix that sometime soon.**

**Now this is part one of the fourth chapter of the overall story because I'm currently adding quotation marks and italicized apostrophes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil its a product of CAPCOM. If I did Jill's RE3 outfit would've seen another installment. And I would've made her and Chris hook up. And a sex scene or two. **

**Anyway read and review.**

* * *

Chapter One.

Claire tried to shake the deja vu from her mind as she was bounced around in the back of a Humvee that rolled over a dusty narrow road. The terrain she could see through the dust covered window was nothing like Spanish countryside had been, with its suffocating gray trees that lined winding, deeply rutted roads, yet the sensation of having done this all before was strong. The few trees that dotted the west African countryside reminded her umbrellas and she kept expecting to see some of the same animals they showed on nature shows but was disappointed.

Looking at the bobbing heads of the two BSAA agents that rode in the front of the Humvee she was able to see why this all seemed to familiar. While they both spoke in French accents, not Spanish, and had been perfect gentlemen, the scene was very much like it had been three years ago in the back of that smelly police car before things got out of hand.

_'At least I'm not on a motorcycle,'_\- she thought. '_Then I'd be in real trouble.'_

The amount of trash on the side of the road became thicker overtaking the sun-baked soil and dominating the roadside terrain. She recognized the brand names on some of the wrappers and felt a twinge of homesickness as they started to pass by buildings. Unlike the dilapidated structures she had seen in Spain these buildings had never been nice, nor would they have qualified as houses in some parts of the world. They appeared to be built from the same debris that littered the roadsides but what caught Claire's attention was that no people could be seen among them or walking along the road.

The Humvee sped up as the houses became denser and the road turned abruptly to crumbling pavement. The driver ignored a stop sign and took a turn hard to speed down a street. Claire gripped the back of the seat and leaned forward suddenly aware of the danger they were in. The agent in the passenger seat was checking something on a mobile device and pointed to the right side of the street while saying something in French.

"Nous sommes arrives", said the driver. "We are at the drop point. Are you prepared?"

She patted her side where a .45 caliber pistol rested in its holster and felt the pocket of her fading red vest for something hard and metal she kept there. She also wore a belt that held ammunition and a few other items, namely a small flashlight, and a custom smart phone the BSAA issued to its personnel that Claire, being a member of the DSO, was jealous of. Ready as I'm going to be, she said.

The Humvee slowed and turned rapidly into a vacant lot. Overflowing garbage bins were lined against a wall that was bowing inward, and trash littered the pavement.

Remember, said the soldier in the passenger side. Keep your sidearm out where people can see it, but don't go waving it around. Walk like you know where you're going even if you don't, and don't make eye contact with anyone.

"I remember the briefing." Claire said. Before she had been sent off in a Humvee with two BSAA members she had sat in a room for several hours being told the same things people in suits and uniforms had been telling her for the past week. That she was not the ideal person for this job, but paradoxically she was the only one they felt could do it. It seemed as through they were trying to talk her out of it, and maybe some of the more conscientious ones were. It's not a black-white thing, they had insisted. It's just that these people are one step away from being terrorists and you're an attractive, young western woman, so you're going to attract some attention.

Her job was to investigate sightings of her brother, Chris, which was perhaps another reason for the deja vu. Chris had not been suspended from the BSAA like he was from STARS after the mansion incident, he had simply gone AWOL. What surprised Claire was that no one she had spoken to within the BSAA had speculated out loud as to why. Perhaps the answer was too obvious. At least it was to Claire.

Chris had been quite vocal about there being evidence that his partner, Jill Valentine, was alive. He had been his usual tight-lipped self when talking to his sister about the details, but it was clear he thought it was a hot lead and the only thing that surprised Claire was how many times Chris asked permission before tiring of the word no and going off on his own.

_'They won't let him search for his partner but they have no trouble at all borrowing me from the DSO to search for him. Like I wouldn't anyway,'_\- she had thought.

The Humvee came to a stop and she opened the door, noting that she would be alone and out in the open once they left.

"What happens if she doesn't show?" Claire asked.

"Get out of sight and call HQ," said the driver. "We'd stay but orders are to drop you and bug out."

She nodded, remembering that was in the briefing, too, and shut the door. Claire watched the Humvee leave and when it was out of sight walked over to the nearest wall and leaned on it feeling like beacon. She listened for the sound of the Humvee getting blown up by an RPG, which is what BSAA command had been afraid of, and heard nothing but its engine fading.

The silence made her chest feel tight and if her mind went unoccupied for too long she would hear moans. Claire reached into her vest pocket and pulled out a gold colored pin that opened up to show her two tiny photographs. One was a clear photo of a blond, smiling girl. Former First Daughter Ashley Graham. The other was a grainy photograph of a short-haired Asian woman. Ada Wong. Claire liked having them together but rarely looked at them. She remembered the day she'd gotten the little keepsake in the mail along with the note.

'-Something to remember me by. Thought you'd need her, too.'- it had said.

Claire closed it and tumbled it around in her fingers. The urge to throw it away was strong. "The streets of some third-world ghetto would be a good place for it," she thought, but as usual it grew heavy in her hand.

"You want to be careful showing off stuff like that in public." said a woman. Claire's hand was on her pistol when she turned to look but the weapon remained in the holster.

The woman was leaning out over the sill of a window. Her skin was the color of a coffee candy, her hair was black and straight, tied behind her head in a small ponytail. She had an almond shaped face and a tiny nose, while her eyes seemed to blend in with her eyelashes to form black, sparkling pools.

"You're..."

"Sheva Alomar," the woman said, leaping out of the window with the grace of a cat. She wore a light purple tank top with a plunging neckline. It contrasted with her form-fitting olive drab pants and calf-high boots. The cover on her gun holster was unbuttoned. "You must be Claire Redfield."

"That's me, Claire said and put the keepsake back in her vest pocket."

"Sorry for spying on you. I'm not like that, I was just curious."

"About what?"

"You. There aren't many women in this line of work so I'm suspicious of the ones I meet. Hypocritical, right?"

It was but Claire did not say so. There was something about Sheva she liked but could not yet say what it was. "I've known a few suspicious ladies myself," said Claire. Should we be going?

"No messing around, that's a good quality" Sheva said. "Alright, keep close but don't look nervous."

Sheva led Claire out of the alley and they went in the direction the Humvee had been going before it turned sharply into the lot.

"Where is everybody?" Claire asked, watching Sheva's backside as she moved. Sheva was lean but not stringy. Her gun belt rested easily on her hips and Claire had to force herself to stop starring and pay attention to her surroundings.

"You know I was wondering that myself." Sheva said. These streets aren't exactly teeming with people at the best of times, but this is odd.

The building's around them began sporting second stories which were clearly recent add-ons and of slightly better quality than the floors bellow. Soon she started to see people. Bored, black faces, mostly men but a few women. There were no children in sight which she found strange.

When they turned a corner to head down a long dirt street the houses and people began to resemble a town. There were people walking past stalls and shops where the shopkeepers kept narrow eyes on their dry goods. Some were selling meat cut it into rough dark pieces and left hanging on hooks.

"I guess HQ told you close to nothing?" Sheva said, walking a little faster so Claire had to step up her pace.

"Just the basics." Claire said, noting the poor job those around her were doing of pretending not to look at her and Sheva.

"Our contact is up ahead at the end of the square. He's been keeping an eye on things here and hopefully he's got something to tell us." Sheva said as they passed a group of tall, lanky men. Claire felt their eyes on her and shifted her holster around so anyone looking could see the gun.

"About my brother?"

"Maybe. Rumor has it Chris Redfield was seen some weeks ago in this region. Can't imagine what he'd be doing here." Sheva said.

"Looking for his partner." said Claire.

"Jill Valentine? I heard she died."

"Chris thinks she's alive. Guess the BSAA isn't spreading that part around."

"They've been trying to keep the whole thing under wraps but you know how rumors spread though an organization." said Sheva. "Most of us grunts thinks it's bullshit how your brother was treated."

"You're not worried about talking in the street like this?" Claire asked.

Sheva slowed to walk a few feet in front of Claire. "It's not going to matter much. We've got good intel that a bio weapon of some kind is being moved through here, today. Alpha Team is going on ahead of us, once we meet the informant, and after them is Delta Team. It's going to get hot here in a hurry."

"What!?" Claire shouted, then clamped her hand over her mouth. She looked around as though she had screamed in church, then picked up her feet to get closer to Sheva. "That's not what I was told!" she hissed, hoping Sheva didn't take her agitation personally. "I mean, they said there was a guy here who might know where Chris is, nothing about an Alpha Team or a bio weapon."

Sheva's almond face pinched into annoyance and concern, but Claire could feel it was not directed at her. "Oh, that's just like them, she said. Well...you're here now, so lets go."

There were more people around them now still going about their business but moving closer to they two women than they needed to be. Sheva trotted towards a green walled butcher shop with no meat hanging. Rather than go for the front door Sheva went down an alley where a rug had been hung over a hole in the wall. This should be it, she said, leading Claire through the rug.

There was a man inside the room. He wore tan, baggy clothing and a white head wrap. His already pinched face narrowed all the more when he recognized the women for who they were. You're late. It's starting already. There is a man, Ricardo Irving. He will be at the rail yard on the other end of town where business of this sort is usually conducted.

"Who's this Irving guy supposed to be?" Claire asked. A glance from Sheva told her she should let her partner do the talking.

"Irving is a bio-terrorist. A facilitator." said the man in the head wrap. "He will know about Uroboros."

"Uroboros," hissed Sheva. "We've been hearing things for months, but nothing solid." she said to Claire. Looking back at the man, she asked, "What about Chris Redfield? We heard he had been sighted in the region."

"I know nothing of him, only that he has been seen," said the man.

"Well that's something," Claire said. -Something close to nothing.

"When their talk lulled they heard a distant noise through the thin walls. It was a man barking harsh words in Swahili through an electronic speaker. What's going on?" Sheva asked, turning to the man. "There was hardly anyone before we got to the town square, then it looked like people were headed somewhere."

"I told you, it's starting. Whoever is pulling the strings in this place knows you're here and is going to make things difficult. Get going, to the train yard before it's too late."

Sheva nodded and with a tilt of her head bid Claire to follow her out a back door where there was a long dirt path leading down between shanty houses, fences, and piles of tires. Claire felt her mobile device vibrate and she remembered the earpiece she kept in her pocket. Turning it on she fitted it into her ear. "It's Claire, I copy," she said.

"Claire, it's Hunnigan, have you found Sheva Alomar?"

"Yes, we're heading into Kijuju. No sign of Chris."

"Alright, but remember your orders. You're to pull back if you confirm he isn't there. You are not to get involved with regular BSAA operations."

Claire sighed, and knew Hunnigan could hear her. That might not be...

"Possible, yes, I know but I have to say it. More bad news, the comm link isn't as good as we thought it would be so I might lose you from time to time."

"Nothing we can't handle," Claire said, following Sheva around corners and through the simple buildings that seemed to be mostly for storage or work."

"The battery on that thing won't last forever, so I'm going to go silent. Keep me posted regularly."

"Will do," said Claire.

"Was that your DSO controller?" Sheva asked. She had drawn her pistol, so had Claire.

"Ingrid Hunnigan. She helped me through the last mess I was in that was like this."

Sheva slowed and turned towards Claire while continue to move forward. "I read the reports on that incident in Spain." said Sheva. "If half of it was true I might believe a few of the other things they say about you."

Claire almost stopped but continued at a trot. "People say things about me? Like what?"

"Crazy things. I'll tell you later, best we focus now."

Claire agreed but could not help but note how Sheva's words did not irritate her as they likely would from anyone else who told her about gossip then instructed her to focus like she was a rookie. The next building they entered was larger than most of the others. Cardboard boxes filled with fruits and vegetables were stacked in the corners around a support beam in the center of the big room on the ground floor.

There was a man leaning against the pole, bent over as though he was being sick. Fluid dribbled from his mouth when he brought his head up to look at them, his black skin shining with sweat. He stood up straight and was a head taller than Sheva but what Claire noted most was the wounds at the corners of his mouth as though they had been cut or torn, and the bloody ichor running from his eyes like tears.

His mouth opened and Claire thought his tongue was swollen to an immense proportion until it split into four fleshy petals like it was some sort of flower. It was not a flower, though, it was a worm or grub of some kind. The man made a gurgling noise in an attempt to hurl some curse at them then charged.

Sheva put two bullets in the man's face which made him fall forward and land at their feet. Claire stepped closer and brought a boot down on the man's neck, just bellow his skull which was bent at an angle. There was a snapping sound and the body spasmed before going limp.

"The hell..." Sheva said, her breath coming fast as she rolled the dead man over with her foot. His face was a bloody bowl with pieces of the worm-thing mixed in with flesh, bone, and broken teeth.

"Las Plagas." Claire said, eyeing the dead parasite. "Or something that looks a lot like it." Her hand rested on her keepsake which she felt through the cloth of her vest.

_'Damn it, Ada, who the hell did you sell that sample to?'_

Her hand fell away from the keepsake when she thought of the reason Ada had given her for selling bio weapons to the highest bidders. That someone would do the job if she didn't, so why not get paid? Or something along those lines. Claire could almost picture herself with Ada, resting on a beach on some tropical island far from the world they had helped poison but the vision was fuzzy and hard to hold on to for more than a moment.

"Las Plagas...ganados, like you wrote in your report." Sheva said. "You don't think..."

They noticed the sound of hundreds of voices now, somewhere not far off but distorted by the buildings and alleyways. Beneath the sound, like a blood vessel running through a membrane, was the voice being piped through a mechanical speaker.

"You meet one Plaga, you're soon to meet a lot more." Claire said, looking down at the dead man and calling Hunnigan. She nodded for Sheva to keep moving and followed her out of the building. When she heard Hunnigan's voice, she told her about the man they had killed.

"You might be walking in to a major outbreak." Hunnigan said. "It's too late to back out now...there's no way the BSAA didn't suspect this...Help them capture Irving, he might have information on your brother but don't put yourself at too much risk. You're on loan to the BSAA for intelligence purposes, not added muscle."

Claire's sigh was almost a growl and she bit her tongue to keep from taking her annoyance out on Hunnigan. "Whatever," Claire said, feeling guilty over her tone. "We're heading to a train yard where the BSAA teams are planning to nab Irving. Over and out."

The sound of Ada's patronizing laughter shook Claire's imagination and to focus on the task at hand she watched Sheva's lithe form sway in front of her, darting her eyes to the side whenever she looked back to see where Claire was. They had come close to where the action was and learned the voice they had been hearing belonged to a man using a megaphone.

They were in a back alley which led them into an indoor produce market. Cardboard boxes of tomatoes and other vegetables were stacked in random places and a large window near the front showed them a mesh fence was all that was between them and the massive crowd they had been listening to. Through the window they could see the crowd massed around a wooden scaffold or gallows. Atop it was the informant they had met with not minutes before and Claire wondered how he could have come to be where he was so quickly. He had been dragged up the scaffold to the highest platform and forced to kneel over a chopping block while a man in a long black frock and dark sunglasses shouted into a megaphone down at the crowd.

Behind them stood an impossibly large man with a leather apron draped over his flab-covered muscles. His face was obscured by a black bag and over his shoulder he carried a giant ax. His foot came down on the informer's back, pinning the smaller man to the chopping block.

Sheva looked at Claire and no words were needed to convey their mutual desire and complete inability to help the doomed man on the scaffold.

"We have to double back and go around," whispered Claire. "Before we're seen."

A train of voices all speaking a language Claire did not understand rose up from the back of the building but rather than burst through the door they carried around to the front and became a group of men on the other side of a mesh fence. They started to climb it, unaware or uncaring for the tangle of barbed wire at the top of the fence.

"There's nowhere to go if we double back," said Sheva who had seen a large hole in the ceiling. She pointed to it and told Claire to boost her up.

Claire formed a stirrup with her hands for Sheva's foot, then let her shoulders be used as steps like on ladder. Sheva was light and had the balance of an alley cat. She was strong, too, hoisting Claire up to the second floor after catching her hand.

"Hopefully this was a good idea." said Sheva.

"We're in a better position now." Claire said. She stooped low and looked through the window towards the execution ground. The man with the bull-horn and long black shirt was no longer making a flowing speech but was now shouting slogans and pointing to the captive who lay motionless under the executioner's boot.

"Bastards will pay for this." Sheva said.

"I can't believe all those people are infected." said Claire.

The ax fell on the man parallel to his spine and split the top quadrant of him in half. Claire's insides felt liquid and bubbly at the sight but she had seen worse things and from a closer vantage point, so she got over the feeling quickly.

Sheva kept her eyes fixed on the carnage and she shook her head slowly. "That's no way to go."

"He might be lucky compared to us if we hang around here much longer." said Claire. "Can we use the rooftops?"

Sheva's response was interrupted by the man with the bullhorn, who was barking commands and pointing in their direction.

"Damn, we're spotted." said Sheva.

"Run!" shouted Claire, heading for a door that led them outside to a makeshift patio. Many of the town's roofs were connected by long planks and it was these that made Claire think the rooftops would be a good escape route.

"Kirk!" Sheva said into her radio as she ran. "Kirk, we need air support by the town square, now!"

The reply over Sheva's radio could not be heard over the shouts from bellow. The mob was running to the building the two woman had come from while a scattered few were taking to the rooftops from elsewhere in the square. "Hurry, Kirk, this is going to get very ugly. Good, roger that." said Sheva.

From the top of a ladder Claire fired down at men who were trying to climb it then she pushed the ladder away before a glass bottle and machete were thrown at her. The objects went high and she fired at the men who had thrown them, wounding two who were more angry than in pain over their flesh being torn. "Is the chopper coming?" Claire asked.

"Kirk says in a few minutes. He's here to support the assault teams but we need him more."

"You can say that again." Claire said as a group of men came out of the building they had left. Scoring head shots on multiple, mobile targets was no easy feat and so she fired into their legs, destroying the kneecap of the lead man and causing him to fall and his fellows to tumble over him in a comic pileup.

Sheva ran ahead and Claire followed, struggling to keep up with her speed and balance over the swaying, creaking bridges that connected many of the houses. Few infected men had come to the rooftops and fewer were able to head them off and those that did were shot by Sheva, who put rounds into their heads and upper chests.

While she felt out of practice, Claire was happy to have a competent partner but when they reached the end of the square, near a small outdoor market, they were was barred by a thick steel gate. None of the rooftop bridges led over it and Claire doubted there would be any climbing it.

"We can make a stand there and if things get too hot we'll duck into that building!" Sheva shouted. She left the roof by falling over the side and turning in midair to catch the edge thus easing her trip to the ground. Claire opted to first sit on the edge of the roof then drop down and she felt the shock of the fall in her legs but was otherwise unhurt.

With their backs against the gate they could see the villagers coming. With their dark skin they reminded Claire of ants and she touched each of her spare magazines on her belt knowing she would need them but they would not be enough.

Sheva and Claire began to shoot as the first group came in to pistol range. Bullets from both women hit the same targets but as more came and tried to flank them they automatically began shooting into separate zones, aiming for the heads and upper chests where the parasites resided. Their enemies moved without fear of the bullets but they were like puppets being jerked on strings. This made them inaccurate when they threw things like knives and tools, but their unpredictable movements made them difficult to shoot, at least where it would kill them outright.

An empty wine bottle hit Claire in the chest and Sheva took the wooden handle of a thrown hatched across her shin before the group was close enough so they stopped throwing things. Sheva shot a hatchet-wielding man in the knee making him kneel, then she took the weapon as he raised it and sunk it into his skull.

Through the oncoming group Claire spied a woman trying to ignite a rag tucked into a bottle. When it was lit, she raised it and threw. Without thinking Claire shot into the air and destroyed the bottle. Burning liquid came down over the heads of the infected men and sent them into a raging panic giving her time to eject the empty magazine from her gun and slip a new one in.

"Follow me!" Sheva shouted, running hard to her left where the flank of the attacking group was weakest. Claire followed her into a building where they took a short flight of stairs up to the roof.

"Kirk, we're out of time. Come now or don't bother!" shouted Sheva into her headset.

The men did not flood into the building but instead gave it a wide berth and leered up at the two women. The executioner was coming down the street like a piece of farm equipment dragging his massive, wet ax behind him. He was too big for the door but this he fixed with a sideways swipe of his ax that shook the building.

Both women went to the top of the stairs and fired bullets into the hooded figure that came lumbering up them. Claire hoped he would be so heavy the stairs would not support his weight but they did, and their bullets seemed not to bother him.

They backed up as the executioner came to the top of the stairs. He swung the ax like a scythe which Claire barely avoided by dropping flat on her stomach. Sheva had somehow jumped and landed hard on both feet.

"Push him!" shouted Sheva.

'_She can't be serious!'_ Claire thought, but then saw Sheva charge forward and slide under the big man's legs causing him to stand upright and begin twisting around. Claire jumped to her feet and sprang at the executioner as fast as she could and hit him high in the chest with her shoulder. He was knocked off balance and went down the stairs backward with a crash that made the floor beneath them shake.

Once the men on the street realized the executioner had fallen they began to come inside while others set ladders against the building. Claire put a new magazine in her gun and started to refresh the spent one while Sheva toppled ladders and fire at the men bellow.

When Claire heard the sound of a helicopter she started to cheer but screamed when the executioners ax was shoved up through the ceiling, nearly hitting her.

"It's Kirk!" shouted Sheva. "Let's go!"

She went to a ladder and fired down it to clear the men climbing up, then slid down the rungs. Claire was no so bold but went down several rungs at a time to stand in a group of men with her partner.

The helicopter was at the other end of the square whipping up dust and debris with the air displaced by its whirring blades. Sheva fired her gun as she ran into a group of men and covered her head with her free hand while Claire went after her, also covering her head and feeling blows on her forearms while twisting away from attempts to grab on to her. Had the helicopter not created a disturbance they might not have made such a rush.

They did not run to the gate but instead went into the small area of fruit stands. Claire tripped while turning around and from the ground saw the helicopter's minigun fire into the crowd they left by the house. When the executioner came out of the building the bullets chopped him to pieces and spattered the building red.

"Way to go, Kirk!" Sheva called out. "Roger."

She helped Claire to her feet and they went further from the gate while the helicopter repositioned itself above them before firing a missile into the gate that had barred their path. It was blown in half and off its hinges.

Sheva's headset could be heard crackling and she swore. "Come on. Kirk says it looks like the entire town is rallying on us here."

On the other side of the gate was a narrow dirt street running alongside a dry canal. Wooden bridges went over the canal and lead further into town but Sheva slid over the dirt edge and waived for Claire to follow. "Where are we going?" Claire asked once she was with Sheva.

"Kirk says we should hide, plus this canal will take us in the direction of the train yard."

"Hope they don't follow us in there." Claire said, looking to where the canal became a tunnel not far up ahead.

"Same here." said Sheva who had begun to jog. Claire let out a long breath and focused on Sheva's buttocks and the strong lines of her back they went into the dark tunnel opening.

Chapter Two.

The tunnel was made from crumbling bricks and was sparsely lit by light bulbs strung along thin, orange cords. The floor was dry and there were places in the walls where people had dug openings for small dwellings. Claire could see why. It was much cooler in the tunnel and she felt a chill from the change in temperature.

They ran into no trouble for a few hundred yards but Sheva suddenly touched her earpiece and cursed. She ran faster and was searching the sides of the tunnels for another little cave and when she found one she bid Claire to follow her inside past the blue tarpaulin that served as a door. Inside, the ceiling was low but the floor dropped off partway in leaving them a place to duck and not be seen if someone were to pull aside the tarpaulin.

The only light was from a board wrapped in clear Christmas tree lights. Sheva was looking for the switch.

"Here," Claire said, finding the switch and flipping it. Only half the lights went off and Sheva was about to tear them down when they heard people outside. Both pressed themselves low to the floor and listened to the muttering beyond the tarpaulin. Sheva started to raise her weapon when the tarpaulin moved but Claire stopped her. The men had seen nothing and were moving on.

"Close one," said Claire.

"I know...whew, makes me wet though."

Sheva's eyes went wide a moment after she spoke and she covered her mouth.

Claire waited a second before smiling. "Same here, she said."

Sheva grinned and was relieved." Glad it's not just me who gets it. You always hear the boys joke about getting erections on missions but I can never tell if they're serious."

"Danger is a turn-on for some people, I guess." said Claire, thinking of one person in particular. "Not that I enjoy this sort of thing."

"No, who does?" said Sheva. Her radio distracted her and she held the receiver tighter to her ear. "Kirk's saying we should stay put for now, there's too many on the move up above."

"That's alright, I was getting tired. It's been a while since I was on a field mission like this." She winced from the countless aches in her muscles as well as the scratched and bruises she had been given by the infected townspeople. After she refreshed her magazines she looked at Sheva. Her dark skin was like polished wood from the sweat she had worked up.

"You said earlier people say crazy things about me," said Claire. "How crazy?"

Sheva sat with her wrists on her knees and waved her gun in a dismissive manner, keeping the muzzle pointed at a wall. "Well, everyone thought Ada Wong was the one who got to you, but after the incident in Spain with the Graham girl the rumors became you were a real Femme Fatale type, sort of like a Jane Bond or something."

Claire smiled with one side of her mouth. "I wish I had it so good."

"Is any of it true?" asked Sheva.

"Depends on what else people are saying," said Claire. "You could say I was dating Ada Wong for a time."

"And the First Daughter?" pressed Sheva, after Claire had been silent for several moments. "Stop me if I'm prying."

She was prying but it did not feel like it to Claire. Instead it seemed like she had known this woman for longer than the short time they had been together and they were now trying to recover lost memories. "I fooled around with Ashley, too, Claire said, then felt sick. No, it was more than fooling around. But I didn't seduce her. We just kind of clicked."

"I wasn't trying to stir anything up." said Sheva. "I was just curious, you know?"

Claire nodded, locking eyes with Sheva and trying to read her. While Claire had been watching Sheva, Sheva had been watching Claire. "Has your curiosity been satisfied?"

"Almost," said Sheva. "I was just wondering about you and Ada. When things got hot, did you ever get...intimate?"

Claire smiled and laughed, wondering why neither of them would just come out and say it. "Yeah, we would. Ada was crazy like that. But maybe not. Lately I was thinking how that sort of thing can help you focus. It can dull a lot of the fear and pain, too."

Sheva rubbed the back of her neck and looked at the ground between her feet. "I've had some self-time on a mission and it helps but, you know."

A feeling that reminded Claire of the first time she had driven by herself on a motorcycle overtook her and she stood up. "It's better when you have a partner," said Claire. "You want to try it?"

"You mean...now? With you?"

Laughing again, Claire undid her belt. "Unless I misread you tragically bad that's what you wanted to ask, right? We've got time if we're quick." Claire unzipped her vest and draped it over a stool as Sheva watched. Her tan linen shirt was next then the sports bra she wore. Sheva began to undress as well, unbuckling her belt before pulling her purple tank top over her head. Her bra slid down from her shoulders and landed in a pile of clothes on the hard packed dirt floor.

Sheva sat down and Claire went to her knees. She leaned over Sheva and their lips met. The kiss was chaste at first then their mouths locked. Sheva's tongue was hesitant but eager and it met Claire's halfway before pressing into the other mouth. They went back and forth and Claire came closer to Sheva, leaning her back so she lie down and their bodies synced.

Touching Sheva was easy. Her muscles were soft and her skin smooth despite the dirt, sweat and grime she had picked up in the battle. While soft Sheva was lithe and wiry and she touched Claire all over while holding her down, pressing the two of them together. Sheva's torso was untouched by dirt and it was there Claire nuzzled and kissed her going from the hard bone of her chest to the soft flesh above her naval, then back up again where her lips clamped over the coffee colored breasts. As she sucked a nipple into her mouth and made it wet with her tongue she felt her buttocks squeezed and caressed. While savoring the last salty flavors from Sheva's flesh Claire was abruptly rolled onto her back and Sheva slid into position to nuzzle and kiss.

Claire's hands were exploring Sheva with delight, noting the differences between her body and those of the other women she had known. Claire felt drunk. She felt like everything had slipped off her. She felt Sheva's upper thigh between her legs as it pressed against the soft flesh there and made her body tighten. Her hands went to Sheva's hips and started to pull down her pants prompting Sheva to deftly remove her boots using her own feet. Claire had to lean down to get her own boots off and they used their brief separation to disrobe completely.

On her back, Claire lay still until Sheva's buttocks loomed over her then she gripped them with her hands while the other woman settled over her, facing her feet. Claire squeezed the buttocks while her tongue found its way between the pink spot of flesh before her. Sheva quivered and Claire relaxed, feeling a lapping tongue between her own legs. Slowly pressure began to build in her and it made what she was doing difficult to concentrate on. Still, she had a better angle and made Sheva come first.

When teeth nipped her inner thigh Claire let out a small squeak and deliver a love bite to Sheva's buttock in return. She rubbed the spot she had bitten and kissed it while spreading her legs wider so Sheva could finish her off. After a short time she did and Claire made no effort to conceal the long satisfied moan inside her.

Sheva rolled off Claire and lie on her back, her arms spread out as she breathed heavily. "That was amazing," said Sheva. "And on a dirt floor no less."

Now that the drunk feeling was over the hard dirt floor felt like ice and Claire sat up. "Someday I'll learn to pack a towel or something."

They were quiet and distant muffled noises crept into the space with them. Claire was thinking of the infected people and the ganado she had fought in Spain. She had been alone then for the most part and her situation had been far more dire. She felt good now.

It was Sheva who broke the silence. "So, I don't normally do this sort of thing," she said.

"What? Have sex with women?"

Sheva chuckled. "After all that you're accusing me of inexperience? No, I mean sex in the middle of a combat operation with a woman I just met not two hours ago. I don't know the rules."

"Rules?"

"You know, the rules. The etiquette of the whole thing. I mean I'm not looking for a relationship. Should I even say that word?"

Claire sat up and examined the bite mark on her thigh. It had not broken the skin but the marks were deep and purple. "If there are rules, I don't know them."

"I won't feel bad if I break any then," said Sheva, and picked up her communicator to ask Kirk what the situation was above. She began to dress as she did this and Claire also started to put her clothes back on.

"Roger that, Kirk, we'll be heading their way now." said Sheva. She began putting her clothes on quicker. "He says Alpha Team has made contact with hostiles and he's moving to support them. We're clear to move but something doesn't sound right to me."

"How so?" asked Claire, following Sheva into the tunnel.

Kirk made it sound like Alpha Team was having bigger problems than those infected people, but I can't imagine what that might be.

"Ah," said Claire, thinking she did not have to imagine and could go off memory if she wished but there was no sense in worrying herself or her new partner with speculation. Rather she savored the memory of what had just happened and let herself entertain hopes it might happen again as she watched the nubile frame bounce ahead of her in the gloom.

When the tunnel opened up they climbed the side of it to stand on a narrow dirt street that went between brick and concrete buildings. There were no teeming crowds of infected people but a few were loitering about and some had set up crude ambushes. Claire shot the ones closest to her in the head or chest as did Sheva, only if one had a weapon she would cripple him with a few shots to the legs then use the weapon on his head.

"We're going to need more ammo if this keeps up," Sheva said. "Maybe we'll find some lying around."

"I hope we don't. If they have bullets then they have guns and I'm fine not being shot at." said Claire.

The street led them between two tall concrete buildings, one painted white, the other a patchy blue. At the end of the street was a flight of concrete steps leading up a hill where there were more multi-story buildings. At the top of the fence was a metal gate and at the foot of the stairs was a leaning utility pole that seemed ready to snap under the weight of the transformer it held.

"Wouldn't want that to come down on your head," said Sheva pointing to the pole just before a woman lunged from out of an alley way holding a butcher knife. She lunged towards Claire who sidestepped her.

The woman was tall and wore a colorful but filthy dress. Her face and eyes were ravaged like the infected men Claire had seen but she seemed more feral, like her mind had degenerated more than the others had.

Sheva holstered her gun and drew her knife. "Distract her and I'll put her down." she said.

"Okay," said Claire, liking how Sheva confidently planned this woman's doom while not sounding excited about it. Claire darted at the woman, making her turn towards her for another knife lunge. Sheva was like a sharp wind on an otherwise calm day, clearing the distance between her and the woman in one leaping stride, grabbing her by the opposite shoulder to make her turn before driving the knife into the woman's head from just above the ear.

Sheva moved away and left her knife in the woman's skull. Rather than die she walked in a semi-circle while her body went rigid and shook. Then her head exploded showering the area around her in blood.

A worm, half as thick as the woman's torso had spring up from the neck and was casting its segmented body around like a lasso all while wiggling hooked legs and clacking mandibles. The woman's body wheeled around like a drunken marionette towards Sheva and the worm lashed out at her, missing its target and nearly toppling the woman it rode.

Claire fired at the worm body where it met the woman's neck hoping to dislodge it or kill it outright. It made a lunge at Claire but her bullets had made it like a punctured fire hose and flopped downward then vomited forth a stream of brown fluid before it collapses along with the woman.

"Just like the ganado..." Claire hissed, touching the keepsake under vest pocket.

"Whew... I wasn't expecting that." said Sheva, lowering her gun as she was now confident the thing was dead. "Can they all do that?"

"I don't know how it works." said Claire. "I didn't think they could do that in daylight."

"Looks like the Spanish strain has been modified," said Sheva. "Anyway, I think we need to go up those steps."

Claire nodded and refreshed her magazine. When they turned to go up the stairs they saw a man standing at the top of them and Claire's deja vu returned.

His head was wrapped in bandages leaving a gap for his eye and mouth. He wore no shirt or shoes, only a pair of faded and dirty blue jeans. In his hands he held a chainsaw which he started with two pulls from the starting cord and raised it above his head mixing his high-pitched laughter with the buzzing of the saw.

Sheva laughed and made Claire think she was cracking up. "Watch this." Sheva said, taking aim in the man's direction as he came down the steps. She fired three times and the transformer hanging from the bent utility pole fell to hit the chainsaw man on the top of the head. Its weight drove a sharp corner into the skull cracking it like an egg.

"Very nice." said Claire and patted Sheva on the back.

Sheva's grin became a smile when her radio crackled. Claire could not make out what was being said on the other end but could detect a note of panic in the person's voice. "What? Kirk, explain, what's happening?" said Sheva, her smile gone. "Damn it, we've got to move, Alpha Team needs our help."

Claire felt her stomach turn and wondered what help two lightly armed reconnaissance operatives were going to do to help a BSAA assault team. "I'm guessing they don't need us to bring them snacks and help with the paperwork." Claire said.

Sheva cracked a smile despite her concern. "We can hope that's the case but I can't imagine what they've come up against that they think we'll tip the scale."

"We'll find out when we get there" said Claire. She was not happy about being drawn into heavy combat but knew not being happy never helped.

Sheva's radio crackled again. "Looks like they're sending in Delta Team on top of us. We should be able to link up with them." she said.

More stragglers assaulted them in the alleyways between the tall buildings, some of which they had to go through to get around blocked streets where fires had been set or cars piled on top of each other. They used bullets sparingly but killing in hand-to-hand combat was tiring and put them at greater risk of injury. Hold up a second, Claire said after they had gone through a building. She sat on a stool inside what had once been a bar. Outside at the far end of the street were three men coming their way carrying improvised weapons.

"You're out of shape." said Sheva, watching Claire catch her breath.

"You wore me out earlier." Claire said.

"If you help me drop those three down there I might wear you out again once we see Alpha Team is safe."

"I'll take the one on the right then I'll help you with the other two if you can keep them off me." Claire said, getting off the stool.

"If you can take out two by yourself I'll give you something nice. Deal?"

Claire blinked then looked hard at Sheva. There was a light in her face that knew it should not be there and enjoyed it. You're on, said Claire leaving the building ahead of her partner and going towards the three men. The one Claire had planned to kill was hunched forward intending to stab her with the sharp metal rod he held. The middle one had a machete raised above his head ready to throw or chop with it, while the third carried a wooden club. Stuck me with the nasty ones, I see how it is, Claire said with mock indignity.

"I'll make it worth it." said Sheva. "Promise."

Claire fired at the man with the skewer while the machete blade went past her head, its handle hitting her shoulder. The man she shot was missing half his face and so she dealt him a high kick to the head but that left her open to be tackled by the man who threw the machete. She fell on her back with him on top and his hands around her throat but they relaxed when she pressed her gun barrel under his chin and fired once.

After throwing him off she got up and the man with the skewer came at her. She tried to get away from him but he hit her across the lower back with it, wielding the rod like a club. Claire cried out in pain and spun to fall on her buttocks with her gun up.

Sheva was dodging clumsy swings from her opponent and had moved behind the skewer man, making it dangerous for Claire to shoot him. He held his skewer in front of him like he was holding a fire hose and came forward to impale Claire. She kicked the weapon aside and he fell on top of her and like the man with the machete began to strangle her.

"Need help?" Sheva shouted.

Claire could not answer but she reached for the man's skewer and held it under his chin like she had with her gun on the other man. She shoved it in and did not top until she felt it touch the top of his skull. When she got the dead man off her she sat up to see Sheva standing over the one she had killed, holding his gore-stained club. She dropped it and came over to appraise the corpses Claire had created.

"Guess you earned your treat." said Sheva, helping Claire up then walking her towards a wall.

With her back against the concrete Claire was kissed, deep and hard by Sheva. "I thought we're going to wait...for Alpha..." Claire tried to say through the barrage of lips and tongue.

"We are." said Sheva, giving Claire some space to breath. "Just though you deserved a little taste." She reached into a pouch she carried and pulled something out. "I've been bringing this on missions lately. Comes in handy."

It was a dildo, about seven inches long and only slightly wider than what Sheva could encircle with her thumb and index finger. "Does it..." Claire started to say, then Sheva turned a dial near the bottom, making it vibrate.

"Three speeds. Low, medium, fast." Sheva said, making the vibrator shake at different intensities as she spoke. It was black in color and she ran it over her bottom lip like gloss before twirling the tip in her mouth. She touched it to Claire's lips, who let her slid it in the same distance. "I'm a wizard with this thing, just you wait and see. Gotta keep alive, though."

"That I can do." said Claire, almost giddy over how she felt and fearing that perhaps later she mind find it odd she had been standing over dead men while being shown a dildo. "We should probably get moving."

"Agreed." said Sheva, slipping the dildo back into its pouch and leading Claire down the street.

Her senses had become sharp and her mind focused. She suspected Sheva felt the same.

* * *

And we come to the end of part one. How was it. I know it felt short but hey I get to get an update out. It was driving me crazy adding quotation marks throughout the damn thing. Leave a review and check out my RWBY fic. And check out the other RE fic Eleventh Hour.


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